Snowbarry- Season 4
by Write-To-You
Summary: The fourth installment of the Snowbarry through the Seasons series, this story continues Caitlin and Barry's story in Season 4. Also- currently looking for a better cover picture. If you have any suggestions let me know :) *Currently on hiatus, sorry about that :(*
1. 4x01

**Author's Note: CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Snowbarry- Season 4! I cannot** ** _believe_** **we have made it this far :) :) :) I couldn't have done it without you guys, so a MILLION TIMES THANKS for all your love and support!**

It had been a rough six months.

After Barry had gone into the Speed Force, the city's sky had gone back to normal. Emergency teams and Kid Flash had helped clean up the last of the mess caused by the earthquakes, and Caitlin had snuck away from STAR Labs in the confusion.

She hadn't come back.

There was something inside of her that had broken, and not just a little. First, becoming Killer Frost, terrorizing and hurting her friends and destroying every moral she thought she held as her own. Now Barry was gone, and she was left to deal with it all by herself.

 _Barry was gone_.

It was still something that Caitlin was having a hard time coming to terms with. Even after she bought a new apartment, got a new job, and took the cure that would eliminate Killer Frost... even after the cure didn't work, and she started working for Amunet, and she ignored every one of Cisco and Iris' calls... she still couldn't believe that Barry was truly gone.

Caitlin Snow, MD, now worked in a bar. She was a pretty darn good bartender, able to keep up with orders and remarkably good at mixing drinks. She enjoyed watching people and learning about the regulars and their life-problems (it took her mind off her own), and wasn't afraid to break up fights with the underlying knowledge that she had an ice-demon inside of her that could easily protect her. Considering that she had spent her entire life as a scientist, she was starting to wonder why she hadn't made the decision to change occupations a long time ago.

That being said, sometimes she missed Team Flash. When she heard the sound of sires and occasionally saw a flash of Wally's lightning outside the bar or when she was walking home, she would remember sitting in the Cortex with her eyes on her computer screen, monitoring vitals and capturing metahumans.

Most of all, she just missed _Barry_. She missed his smile and his laugh and the warmth of his hugs, and his long lanky frame and his soft, sweet kisses and the coffee he would bring her after a long night. She missed his silky hair and his sweaters and his occasional tendency to trip over his own feet. She missed waking up with him in the morning, or without him and smelling breakfast in the kitchen, long hugs in the Cortex after trying days, and the quiet times that they would spend together as she patched him up after a fight.

She missed all of it, even though she tried to hide it. Caitlin didn't mope. After a week of tears and not wanting to get out of bed she shut down her feelings and shoved them in a little box in the far corner of her brain. She put her apartment up for sale, and went searching for a new one. Even though she wanted to get out and distance herself, Caitlin couldn't bear to actually leave Central City. She found a new apartment close to the bar she worked at and bought it almost immediately.

It didn't take Caitlin long to get settled into her new life. She would wake up, make breakfast, _not think about Barry_ , walk to work (or take her car if the weather was bad), _not think about Barry,_ work her shift, take a lunch break, _not think about Barry,_ go back for another shift, then walk or drive home and _not think about Barry._ After her day was over she would make herself dinner or order takeout, and _not think about Barry._

It wasn't living, but it was life.

Then came the day that Cisco walked into her bar.

She had been working her shift, cleaning glasses and wearing a slimming white tank top and jeans. Caitlin couldn't even remember the last time she had worn a skirt. She definitely didn't dress like a high school principal anymore. It reminded her too much of Barry and the life she used to have.

"Wow," a _very_ familiar voice behind her said. "What a selection. Any suggestions?"

There was a large, grizzly man also at the bar. Caitlin smirked at his reply. "Yeah. Drink somewhere else."

"What can I get you?" Caitlin asked, not turning around.

"Let's go with something sweet, but deceptively strong," the man responded. "With lots of ice."

Caitlin sighed. At this point, she knew who the man was. It was a voice too familiar to her not to recognize.

She turned around, smiling a little. "Shirley Temple, coming right up."

Cisco shook his head. "What is a nice girl with two doctorates and PhD doing in a rats nest like this one?"

Caitlin smiled up at him, filing his drink. As much as she tried to ignore it, she had missed Cisco quite a bit. "Working. How'd you find me?"

Cisco rolled his eyes. "I'm great with computers and I have my own satellite," he reminded her. "You do the math."

"You vibed me," Caitlin said flatly, setting down his drink.

"I vibed you, yeah," Cisco admitted. She shook her head and walked across the back part of the bar, knowing he would follow her. "You're looking a lot less Frosty than the last time I saw you. You said you weren't yourself anymore; that there was still apart of her in you."

Caitlin didn't look at him. "It's just me, Cisco. I'm just Caitlin," she lied. In truth, Killer Frost was still there, strong, but controlled. She was no longer a danger, at least for the most part.

"How'd you do it?" Cisco asked, peering at her.

She changed the subject. She didn't want to get into her history with Amunet, not ever if she had to. "What do you want?"

"Well, a stiffer drink for starters," Cisco joked. Caitlin rolled her eyes and grabbed his empty glass. "If you're back to normal," Cisco continued. "I have to know. Why did you leave us?"

Caitlin didn't reply. Cisco knew why she left.

"Okay, I get it, that's fine," Cisco said quickly, holding up his hands. "I'm not gonna make you answer that. But we really could have used you. With Barry still in the Speed Force and everything."

Caitlin looked down, swallowing a little. "I know, Cisco," she said softly. "I've done my research."

"But," Cisco said, leaning forward. "I'm gonna get him out. I need your help."

Caitlin paused her action of squirting alcohol syrup into Cisco's new drink. She looked up, opening her mouth to speak, and saw Norvock coming over to the table. He was a creepy, sleazy looking man with a snake for an eye (hidden behind a fake eyeball), and a partnership with Amunet. Even Frost didn't get along with him.

"Everything okay?" Norvock asked, sliding his gaze from Cisco to Caitlin.

She knew he didn't actually care if she was alright or not. This had to be about... the something else. "Everything's fine," she responded quickly.

"Yeah, everything's great, pal," Cisco said, rolling his eyes. "Do you mind? I'm talking to the lady; I'm sure there's someone else in here you can find to commiserate with over poor life choices."

Caitlin held her breath. When provoked, Norvock could be extremely dangerous. She, as Caitlin, wouldn't try to anger him... though how Frost interacted him with was definitely different.

Norvock gave Cisco a long, unthreatened look and straightened up. He glanced at Caitlin one more time before sauntering away.

" _Thank you_ ," Cisco said under his breath. "Look," he continued, looking back up at Caitlin. "I've figured out how to save Barry. But I can't do it without you. You see that Samurai that showed up today?"

Caitlin tried to ignore the fluttering in her chest that felt strangely like hope. "Yes."

"He's threatening to blow up the city," Cisco said. "And we need Barry to stop him. Will you help us out? Please? Caitlin?"

Caitlin's hands stilled on the glass she was cleaning and she let out a soft breath. When she looked back up at Cisco, she smiled. "My shift's over in an hour."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin met up with Cisco in the same place where it had all started: the empty road where Barry had first tested his speed. She remembered it like it had been just a couple days ago; Barry running for the first time, watching him through binoculars and not believing what she was seeing. She remembered him tripping on his own feet and crashing into barrels after an exhilarating couple of seconds. It had been the first of many times to come that she had set one of his broken bones.

She waited until Cisco had explained everything to Wally and Joe. Apparently Iris had taken over as the Team leader and was, for whatever reason, against bringing Barry back. Caitlin didn't quite understand it, but she was sure the other woman had a good reason.

Joe and Wally turned around when she said a soft hello, both of them tensing.

"It's okay!" Cisco said quickly. "She's Caitlin again. Our Caitlin. She's here to help us."

Caitlin swallowed, shifting nervously where she stood. She had been so nervous about this. Not only had she tried to kill Iris and kidnaped Cecil in her time as Killer Frost, but she had worked with Savitar, _and_ she had just left the Team after Barry disappeared. No explanations, no support for the other people who were hurting. She wouldn't be surprised if Joe wanted to shoot her, much less never speak to her again.

Cisco glanced at Wally and Joe. "What do you say?"

Joe shook his head slowly and pointed at Cisco. "You'd better be right about bringing him back."

Cisco grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "I am."

Caitlin took a deep breath as Cisco walked over to the tech set up, approaching the man that she had seen as sort of a surrogate father over the past few years. "Joe... I know I can never make up for the things I did to you... to Cecil... I just hope- that someday... you can forgive me?" Her voice shook a little as she got to the end, and Joe finally smiled at her.

He leaned forward and pulled her into a hug, and Caitlin hugged him back gratefully. When she pulled back, Joe's smile was even wider. "Let's bring everyone home today, okay?"

"You got it," Caitlin said, extremely relieved.

"So..." Wally said. "How are we going to bring Barry back without blowing a hole in the Speed Force?"

"In the spirit of bringing back, we're bringing back old friends!" Cisco announced, whipping a sheet off of what looked like an odd telescope. "May I present... the Speed Force Bazooka. I made a few slight modifications, as Captain Solo would say."

He ran his hand lovingly over the machine and then turned back to the group. "Caitlin and I spent all last night working out some of the kinks, and fine-tuning the quark sphere."

Joe frowned. "What?"

"The quark sphere," Caitlin repeated. "Filled with Barry's genetic marker and programed to track his specific DNA using the electrical current of the Speed Force." She tossed the small, red ball to Wally, who looked it over curiously.

"Once we track Barry and we pull him out," Cisco called over. "The quark sphere will trick the Speed Force into thinking he's still there."

"Hey Wally!" Caitlin called. She had walked over to the tent and was standing behind the computer monitors, ready for action. "Can you put that on the center pylon?"

Wally grinned at her and flashed off. A second later the computer Caitlin was looking at jumped to life, signaling that the quark sphere was in place. "Ready," she reported, feeling a sparking mixture of nerves and excitement and anticipation spike in her blood. It was the most alive that she had felt in months.

"Let's bring our boy home," Cisco murmured, and activated the Bazooka.

"Quark matter scanning electrical current!" Caitlin called over.

A terrific breeze began to blow, sending her hair flying across her face. Caitlin swiped it away, watching with wide eyes as the quark sphere lifted into the air, shaking and glowing.

"Triangulating quark matter on his location!" Caitlin yelled over the noise of the wind, clicking a couple of buttons on her computer. "I've got a lock on something!"

An uncontrollable grin spread across her face. They were doing it. They were actually, truly doing it.

"It's him..." Cisco muttered, then: "IT'S HIM!"

" _Now_ , Cisco!" Caitlin yelled, warmth filling her chest.

The bazooka shot out a ray and formed a giant, swirling breach in the middle of the roadway. Then, suddenly, anticlimactically...

It all vanished.

 _System failure_ , the computer read, but Caitlin was barely looking. A crushing, all consuming, weighted disappointment smashed into her chest.

They had failed.

 **Flash!**

"I don't understand..." Cisco murmured. "This should have worked."

Iris had found them outside and immediately gotten angry. Now Cisco, Joe, Wally and Caitlin were all in Cisco's lab.

"Or, you could have killed us all," Iris snapped, glaring at him.

Caitlin tilted her head, suddenly understanding. Iris had seen all the things that had happened with the Speed Force. Savitar had come from it, they had almost lost Wally and Jay to it for good, and it had nearly destroyed their city countless times. Iris, Caitlin realized, was scared. It wasn't that she didn't want Barry back. She just knew that there could be consequences, and she didn't want to have to face them.

Still, Iris was being a _bit_ hard on all of them. All they were doing was trying to get their best friend back. "I don't know, Iris," Caitlin spoke up. "I think we were pretty close."

Iris turned around slowly, glaring at Caitlin. "I'm sorry, 'we'?"

Caitlin frowned, not understanding what she meant.

"Where have you been the last six months, again?" Iris snapped, and Caitlin felt like she had been punched in the gut. She took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself defensively. Maybe Iris was right. She had no right to be here.

Joe defended her before anyone else could say a word. "She was only trying to help," he said, shocked that Iris had been so rude.

"Look, guys, we need to concentrate on stopping this Samurai that's trying to destroy the city, _not_ on Barry," Iris continued, not looking at all remorseful.

"Dude, what is your _deal_?!" Cisco yelled, spinning around. "It's like you don't even want him back!"

Iris squinted angrily and opened her mouth, but Joe held up his hands. "Hey! Hey hey hey hey," he cried, stoping a full out fight from breaking out. His phone buzzed, and Joe held it to his ear. "Cecil, can I call you back in a minute? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Then his eyes went wide. " _What_?"

It took the Team no longer then 3 minutes to get over to the CCPD. They met Cecil in the entryway and followed her at a quick pace to a private room in the hallway. "State police picked him up on route 112, just outside Central City," Cecil reported as she walked across the tile.

"That's 300 miles away," Joe said, bewildered.

"Yeah," Cecil murmured. "But the cops at Keystone recognized him."

Caitlin and Cisco were right behind Joe and Cecil. Caitlin found her hands were trembling as Cisco quietly rejoiced his success. "I knew it would work," he murmured. "I knew it."

Right outside the dark wooden door to one of the briefing rooms, Cecil stopped and took a deep breath. "You should prepare yourselves."

Even that ominous note couldn't stop Caitlin's heart from fluttering with excitement as she stepped into the room.

Barry had to his back to them. He was sitting crosslegged on the floor in a grey t-shirt and jeans that Caitlin didn't recognize, and he had a pencil in his hand. There were drawings all over the room, but as Barry turned slowly around all Caitlin couldn't concentrate on was _him_.

A smile spread across her face, uncontrollable and bright. " _Barry_ ," she whispered, and Barry's eyes locked with hers.

He smiled back, widely, blankly, and Caitlin was about to run to him for a hug when his gaze slipped straight past her shoulder. "Nora shouldn't be here," he said quietly.

Caitlin's heart sank. "Your mother's not here, Barry," she said gently. "It's us. It's me. Caitlin. We- we got you back."

Barry didn't seem to have heard her. "Your honor, I miss him," he murmured. "I didn't do this- I didn't kill anyone." Suddenly he began to yell. "Can you hear the stars?! Singing?! Rhyming-chiming-turning every hour, every minute-" His gaze turned to Joe, who looked shocked. "You said the city was safe! That there _was_ no residual danger. But that's not true! What really happened that night?"

"The city is safe. You saved it. You saved us all," Caitlin said slowly. Something in her was breaking, slowly crumbling as hope rushed out of her for the second time that day. This wasn't their Barry. Something wasn't right.

Barry stepped up to her and Caitlin looked right back at him, eyes wide. He smiled at her, soft and gentle, and her mouth smiled back before her brain could realize how _nice_ it was to see him smiling again.

But then... "Now stars think," Barry whispered. "Like... ice-cream... drain... gleam...mmmm..." he trailed off, rubbing his mouth thoughtfully and moving past her to the other side of the wall.

Caitlin turned with him, unable to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. The entire wall behind them was covered with the same drawings, as was the window.

Barry leaned against it. "Nothing seems..." he mumbled. "Nora shouldn't be here."

Joe leaned over to her. "I'm guessing this isn't just shock?"

Glad to have some real answer for him, Caitlin shook her head. "Shock results from a drop in blood pressure. This is... neurological."

Barry pressed his hand to the wall and then slowly backed up, eyes wide. "It's a- a _whole new way_ of looking at physics!" he proclaimed. "It can change the way that we think about _everything_. From a single atom... to an entire galaxy."

Suddenly Barry let out a scream and clutched at his head, falling to the ground. Caitlin's hands balled into fists at her sides, aching to do something. She hated this- hated it hated it _hated it_.

"Stars so loud-" he wailed. "Loud-cloud-proud-" Then his voice trailed back off to a whisper. "We're both okay. We're gonna be fine. I'm just not sure I'm like you, Oliver."

Joe and Caitlin exchanged another glance, and Caitlin nodded. "We need to get him back to STAR Labs, now," she said quietly, and walked over to Barry side. He was back on his feet now, looking fully recovered from his brief mental breakdown.

Ever so gently, Caitlin pulled a tranquilizer pen out of her pocket and pressed it to Barry's arm. It made a soft noise as it depressed, and Barry looked up at her. It seemed that he saw her for the first time, and his eyes filled with confusion and betrayal.

Caitlin rested her hand against his back as he began to fall, the tranq kicking in. Joe caught him easily, but Caitlin kept her hand on Barry.

She couldn't believe that after everything they had been through, this is what she had left.

 **Flash!**

Barry was still unconscious after Caitlin finished her checkup. She came into the side Cortex room with her tablet and a half-hopeful heart, and Joe met her with a worried look. "What's the diagnosis?" he asked. "Does he have brain damage or... something?"

"He's actually scary healthy," Caitlin reported, in full doctor mode. "His neural transmitters are functioning at _five times_ the normal speed."

"Then what's wrong?" Iris asked, frowning.

"I have two theories," Caitlin said, turning around to face her apt audience. "One is that he's suffering from a form of schizophrenia: that's where you assign the wrong definitions to words."

"So, from his perspective, all that nonsense he's saying makes sense," Joe nodded.

"It's too bad we don't have a translator," Wally said.

"No," Cisco said, squinting thoughtfully. "But we can make one."

He led the team out of the room, already putting up pictures of all the symbols Barry had been drawing up onto the monitors. "If his brain's schizophrenic, all these symbols represent words, and he could be sending us a message. We just need the right algorithm to decrypt it."

Iris turned back to Caitlin. "You said you had two theories... what's the other one?"

Caitlin sighed. This was on the one she didn't like. It wasn't solvable, and it drained the last bit of hope that was still clinging on inside of her. But still, Iris deserved an answer. "We know that the Speed Force exists beyond space and time," she said. "To us, Barry was only there for six months. But to him... it could have been ten thousand years. All that time in isolation... it could have caused dementia. That may be all of him that's left."

Iris looked down sadly and Caitlin bit her lip. This was one of the hardest things that she had ever been through. Having Barry _so close_ , but not quite there... it hurt her more then any of that pain in her past had.

"How do we find out which one it is?" Joe asked, breaking the silence.

Caitlin shrugged. "I could... decrease the sedative and wake him up?"

Cisco slowly turned around from his work and started to smile. "I think I've got the perfect song for that."

 **Flash!**

"Are you sure this is appropriate?" Caitlin asked skeptically as _Poker Face_ by Lady Gaga began to blast through the STAR Labs speakers.

She and Cisco were hovered over Barry, and Caitlin was shining a light in his eyes to run a few more pupil checks before he fully woke up and wouldn't look at her.

"Yeah," Cisco said. "It's a good luck charm. It worked last time, remember?"

"He was in a coma. Not another dimension."

"Well, waking up to Gaga shouldn't seem too freaky, then," Cisco said with a grin.

In truth, Caitlin _did_ remember the last they had listened to this song with Barry in the medical bed in front of them. A lot had changed since then.

Like, a _lot_.

"Hey? Barry..." Cisco said, grinning and waving his twizzler in front of Barry's face. "It's me. Cisco. AKA Vibe. AKA your BFF."

Barry sat up a little and slowly looked around. Caitlin smiled gently at him, resting her hand on his arm. "Hey," she whispered, rubbing her thumb over his skin.

"While you were gone, I made you a new suit," Cisco continued, still trying to act as normal as possible and make Barry feel comfortable and like himself. "You wanna take it out for a spin?"

"Stars write..." Barry whispered, and Caitlin's heart sank.

Barry fell back against the pillows, rocking back and forth and clutching at his head. "Pain..." he mumbled. "Too soon... I think- they're here- no thank you- I'm not hungry."

Suddenly he turned to Caitlin. "He didn't do those things," he said in a heartbreaking voice. "He didn't hurt my mom- I was there that night. There was a man- man- no plan-"

He clutched at his head again and fell forward, grabbing at the edge of the whiteboard. Then the pain seemed to fade and he let out a hysterical laugh. "We're gonna need more diapers."

Caitlin and Cisco exchanged looks, and the latter let out a strained laugh. "Diapers. Right."

Barry spun towards the white board and picked up at a white felt marker. His face turned serious, concentrated, and he began to neatly draw the symbols that had been all over the room in the CCPD.

"You keep drawing," Cisco said supportively. "You keep drawing, buddy. We're gonna figure this out."

Barry rubbed the back of his wrists over his eyes, muttering under his breath. Joe sent Caitlin a worried glance. "Caitlin?"

"I don't know," she murmured, wishing she had more answers. "Do you mind if I... talk to him for a second?"

The rest of the Team nodded and filtered out of the lab. Caitlin took a step towards her fiancé, hands shaking and everything in her aching to run to him and hold him.

"Barry?" she whispered instead, not wanting to overstep her boundaries and scare him in his mentally fragile state. "I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're trying to send us a message or... but I- I just- It's been so _hard_ without you, you know? And I... I'm struggling. Killer Frost... she's still here, and she's still real, and I'm _scared_ Barry. I don't know who to talk to and I just- I need you more then I ever thought I did."

Barry was staring intently at the drawings he had made on the white board, and Caitlin came around to the side of him so she could see his face. "I don't- I don't know what I will do if this is all that's left of you," she admitted. "All that's left of the reckless, amazing, beautiful, incredible Barry that I love."

A tear slid down her cheek and Caitlin wiped it away with the back of her hand. Suddenly unable to resist herself, she rested her head against Barry's shoulder and lightly placed her hands on his arm.

Barry glanced down at her, looking bewildered, before his eyes suddenly flashed red with lightning and he began to vibrate.

"Um... guys?" Caitlin called as Barry suddenly flashed into the Cortex and began to whip around it at alarming speed. Caitlin sprinting out of the lab and toward her own, grabbing a weapon that was still thankfully lying on one of the tables.

Barry continued to whiz around the Cortex, knocking both Joe and Wally to the ground.

"Breach him to the pipeline!" Iris called to Cisco, who had just run into the room.

"He's too fast!" Cisco protested, trying to get a good shot.

Caitlin had reached the entrance of her lab. She squinted, aimed, and shot a quick blast of ice.

Barry crashed to the ground in on a pile ice shards, and Cisco and Iris both glanced up, alarmed.

Caitlin smirked, holding the cold gun in her grasp. "Expecting someone else?"

She thought she saw Iris' eyes flicker with a little bit of guilt, but Caitlin decided that now wasn't the time to read into it.

Joe got to his feet, pointing at Barry. "We need to get him into a containment cell before he does that again."

Caitlin nodded and sighed, and she, Cisco and Joe all worked together to lift Barry off of the ground and bring him towards the pipeline.

 **Flash!**

Iris came up with the brilliant-but-also-stupid idea to send Wally instead of Barry to fight the Samurai. Wally dressed in the Flash suit and vibrated his face and voice, but it was (at least to Caitlin) still easy to tell that he wasn't the real Flash.

The plan didn't work, and Wally ended up back at STAR Labs with his leg injured and seeming very frustrated. Caitlin sighed and got to work fixing him back up. She honestly wasn't sure how Team Flash survived while she was gone.

"He sliced right through your fibula," Caitlin sighed, kneeling by Wally's chair and inspecting her wrapping work on his calf. "If you weren't a speedster, I'd be amputating your leg right now."

Wally swallowed audibly. "How long?"

"I'd give it.. five hours until you're fully healed?"

Joe and Iris exchanged very obvious glances and Wally's face set. "You know what? I'm fine," he said, standing up before crying out in pain and collapsing back into the chair.

"Son, son," Joe cried, hurrying over. "You've done everything you can do. Just... relax."

Caitlin let out another sigh and got up, leaving the Wests and going to find Cisco. He was sitting in his swivel chair in front of his computer, which was running scans on all of the symbols Barry had been drawing.

"Any luck?" Caitlin asked hopefully.

"Well, not yet," Cisco said. "The computer keeps telling me it's random gibberish."

The corners of Caitlin's mouth slid down. "Maybe it is," she murmured, refusing to ignore any possibilities, no matter how much she wanted to.

" _No_ , it's not," Cisco told her firmly. "Barry's trying to send us a message. I know it. I mean, he spent all this time in the Speed Force. Maybe now he knows the answers to life... the universe... and everything."

"So you think all this crazy writing is Barry's way of tellings us that he's now the wisest human being on the planet?"

Cisco chuckled. "Yes, exactly." He paused for a moment, glancing up on her. "Have I mentioned how much I miss having you around?"

Caitlin bit her lip and looked away. There was a semi-awkward silence before Cisco looked down, too. "I'm gonna keep working on this," he mumbled, gesturing to his computer. "You have any ideas?"

"Nope," Caitlins shrugged. "It's all Greek to me."

Cisco looked up, eyes going wide. "Great Caesar's Ghost..." he breathed. "This analysis is based on mono-alphabetic substitutions. But what if it's poly-alphabetic? Like _Greek_. Like, the symbols are a unique alphabet!"

Intrigued by this new possibility, Caitlin came around the side of Cisco's desk and watched as he changed the algorithm on his computer.

"YES!" Cisco cried, adding another exclamation in Greek in the same voice and grinning madly.

"What is it?" Iris asked, running in from the hallway.

"Cisco figured it out!" Caitlin beamed excitedly. "He figured out how to crack Barry's code."

"What does it say?"

"Hold on hold on hold on..." Cisco muttered, snapping his fingers at his computer. "It's loading... come on..."

A soft beep made Caitlin's heart clench suddenly. This could be the answer. This could be the solution to all of their problems.

Four words spread across the screen and Cisco sucked in a breath. "And it says... This house... is... bitchin'..."

His voice trailed off and Caitlin frowned. If this hadn't been so disappointing it would have been funny. "That does _not_ sound like Barry."

"No, no it doesn't," Cisco said, disappointed. "It's 'cause it's not."

He shut down the algorithm and abruptly left the room.

After a long moment, Iris turned to Caitlin. "Caitlin... this might sound crazy, but I just had an idea."

Caitlin tilted her head. "What?"

"The Samurai wants the Flash, right?" Iris asked. "And he's going to destroy the city if the Flash doesn't show up in..." Iris checked her watch. "An hour. My dad is setting up a line of cops to try and fight him at the location he gave to meet Barry, but if the Samurai can defeat Kid Flash he can easily defeat a bunch of cops."

"Right..." Caitlin said, unsure as to how this was a plan. It seemed like a bunch of recap to her. Almost like Iris was trying to get the readers to know exactly what was going as quickly as possible.

Whoops, I've been exposed.

"Okay, so, what if we can convince the Samurai that if he does something, the Flash will definitely show up?" Iris continued. She was starting to sound more and more vague, and Caitlin was getting more and more confused.

"Iris, what exactly is your idea?" Caitlin sighed. She really didn't have the patience for this today, especially after Iris had been so harsh to her earlier that morning.

"Get him to kidnap you."

" _What?!_ "

"Get him to kidnap you," Iris repeated.

Caitlin gave her a hurt look. "Iris, I know that you're mad at me. I get it- I really do. I worked with the man that tried to kill you-"

"No, Caitlin, this isn't about that!" Iris cried. "I forgive you for all of that. Today.. what I said this morning... I was just frustrated, and I took it out on you. This is something completely different. _Barry will come for you_. He always has and he always will."

"I don't understand..." Caitlin murmured.

Iris let out a sigh and rubbed her hands through her hair. "If Barry thinks that you are in danger, no matter how messed up his mind is, he will come through for you. You know he will."

"So you want me to get the Samurai to kidnap me so that the Barry we know will awaken _and_ defeat him?" Caitlin asked slowly. "That... might actually work."

Iris nodded anxiously. "Okay," she said shortly, not wasting time on needless conversations. "Then you better get over there and figure out how you're going to do this."

 **Flash!**

Approximately an hour and 11 minutes later, Joe came sprinting into the Cortex. "The Samurai," he panted. "He's got Caitlin. She gave herself up."

"What?!" Cisco yelled, jolting to his feet. "Why would she do that?"

Iris took a deep breath and composed her face. If this got Caitlin hurt, or worse... she wasn't sure how she would be able to face Barry or Cisco or even Joe ever again.

"How do we get her back?" Cisco continued, expression mixing between angry and terrified.

But Joe's eyes had fallen on the video monitor of Barry's cell in the Pipeline. His brow furrowed a moment before he held up his finger and rushed back out of the Cortex. He didn't pause to even catch the elevator, just sprinting down two flights of steps and raced to the Pipeline.

Barry's cell was already in front, ready for visitors.

"Barry!" Joe yelled. "Caitlin is in trouble. She needs your help!"

Barry was ranting madly to himself, hands clutching his hair and gripping his now clean-shaven cheeks. There was writing all over the cell of the Pipeline, and the white felt-tipped marker was still held in his grasp.

"Please, son," Joe murmured, hoping against all hope that this would work. " _Please_! I wanna help you. And after all of this I will. But now she needs our help, or she's gonna die!"

His voice caught and he gripped the edge of the cell, praying to everything holy that he could get Barry to listen to him.

Barry was still scribbling on the walls, and Joe slammed his fist against the glass. "Barry, did you hear what I said?! Caitlin is gonna die!"

Before Joe knew what was happening, the Pipeline cell had exploded as a flash of lightning went straight through the glass. Joe ran from the Pipeline up to Cisco's lab.

"Barry's gone," he reported.

Wally, Iris and Cisco were all staring at the empty body of the mannequin, the sheet that had just been draped over it crumpled on the floor.

"You know what else is gone?" Cisco asked, excitement rising in his voice. "The new suit."

They all hurried up to the Cortex, Iris supporting her brother. Team Flash's leader gave Cisco a worried look. "What's happening?"

Cisco was positively beaming as he watched Barry's tracker blip across the screen.

"The Flash is _BACK_!"

 **Flash!**

Halfway across the city, Barry felt his head start to clear. All of the strange, jumbled mess that had been inside of it filtered away, and as he ran there was _truly_ only one thing on his mind.

 _Caitlin_.

He tracked the Samurai through the city and outside of its boarders, running faster than he ever had before. He could just barely spot Caitlin and her captor in the air, like a very large bird, or a very small plane.

It was then that they realized that they were headed straight for the windmills.

Not sure quite how he was doing it, Barry ran even faster. Even with the crazy head-start the Samurai had gotten, he started to gain. Faster and faster, until he could actually make out Caitlin on the Samurai's back.

Caitlin saw him, too. She lifted her head, eyes wide with amazement at the fact that Iris' plan had actually worked. She stopped herself right before she started to let hope back in. There was no way to know if this was _her_ Barry.

But she could feel it. In some place she couldn't quite name, she could feel that this was _her Barry Allen_ , back from the dead.

The Samurai pulled out his sword and sent an energy blast towards Barry and one of the windmills. Barry skidded to stop and turned in time to see the entire windmill lean. It let out the huge, squeaky, deafening groan of bending metal and toppled over. Around him, the other windmills were doing the same.

Barry started to run again, dodging the falling machines and keeping his eyes on Caitlin.

A windmill right in front of him started to fall and Barry gritted his teeth. He raced up it's side, trying not to notice the dangerously spinning blades that were feet from him, and leaped off of the machine onto the Samurai's back.

Then he grabbed Caitlin and launched himself off again, using another falling windmill to run back down to the ground.

Barry came to a stop with Caitlin bridal-style in his arms. He set her down, and both of them turned their eyes from the falling Samurai (which had been hit by one of the windmills' blades and crash landed somewhere in the grass) before looking back at each other.

Barry forced himself away, however, needing to make sure the threat had been taken care of. He strode towards the Samurai and ripped off it's mask.

All that was there were some smoking wires.

" _Flash..._ " a raspy, computerized voice said. " _Welcome home_."

Barry stared at it in confusion for a moment, until a voice broke through his thoughts.

" _Barry_?" Caitlin said. Her voice was hesitant, concerned, and halfway to overjoyed.

Barry pulled off his cowl, and grin spreading across his face, and turned around.

Caitlin wasn't sure quite she saw, but someone on his face assured her that it was really him. The _real_ him.

She threw herself into his arms and kissed him. Barry kissed her back, fingers winding into her hair as her arms wrapped around his neck. Warmth filled every part of Caitlin, until her toes were tingling and she felt lightheaded.

 _This_ was living.

 **Flash!**

It took them a little while, but Barry and Caitlin finally arrived back in the Speed Force. Their hands were locked together, and Cisco took one look at them and grabbed both of his best friends in a hug.

Caitlin and Barry hugged him back, _tightly_ , and for a moment the three of them just stood in the middle of the Cortex hugging and mostly trying not to cry, just like they had after Caitlin had escaped from Zoom.

It was really good to be home.

After the three of them broke apart and Barry was passed around for more hugs from all the members of the Team, Caitlin dragged her fiancé into her lab. "You. Sit," she commanded, and Barry complied with a laugh.

She was impressed with her results. "Your pupils are normally dilated, and your vitals are _amazing._ You're in perfect health, even for you. I'd like a urine sample, just to confirm, but everything looks great."

Cisco snorted softly. "Man, you love urine."

Caitlin glanced up from her tablet and looked over her shoulder, giving him a weird look.

"I mean, you love the _testing_ of the urine- the testing.. you know what I meant." Cisco elaborated quickly, looking chagrined.

Caitlin sighed and shook her head in mock-disapproval. "Why do you have to ruin science?"

Barry looked up at her, smiling softly. "It's good to have you back," he murmured. Caitlin wasn't quite sure how he knew that she hadn't been here over the past few months, but somehow he could just tell.

She smiled back at him, lightly cupping his cheek with her hand for a moment. "Right back at ya."

"It's good to have _you_ back," Joe agreed, walking over to Barry and pulling him into a one-armed hug. "How do you feel?"

"I feel great," Barry said. It was the most smily Caitlin had seen him in a long time, and it made her happy. "Yeah, I feel incredible. I don't know... it's like... I've been reborn."

"Well okay, Speedy-Jesus," Cisco snarked, and Barry grinned.

"But seriously," Wally put in, holding up a hand. "I mean, it hurts me to admit it, but you may be the fastest speedster _ever_."

"I mean, you were in the Speed Force for _six months_ , maybe you were soaking up it's energy?" Caitlin suggested, shrugging.

"Maybe?" Barry mirrored her shrug and changed the subject. "How was everything while I was gone?"

Caitlin winced and looked down. That was a question she would answer when she was finally alone with the love of her life.

Wally, on the other hand, grinned widely. "Oh, yeah, it was really cool," he said tactlessly. "I mean, Team Kid Flash had everything under control, so..."

Barry raised his eyebrows, and the rest of the Team that had been around all muttered different versions of "That's not our name."

"Still, we have some mysteries left to solve," Cisco said, changing the subject again. "Like our flying Samurai robot. Android Samurai. Samuroid. OH HO HO!" He snapped his fingers triumphantly at the success of his name. "We back, baby!"

Joe chuckled, but Iris squinted at the metal head that was resting on the table. "Yeah, someone created this, and it must be for a reason."

"Does the phrase 'This House is Bitchin' ' mean anything to you?" Cisco asked Barry thoughtfully.

Barry's face scrunched adorably. "No..." he said, looking around at the rest of the Team with a still somehow happy looking confused-face. "Should it?"

Cisco huffed a laugh. "No. Just know that while you were in your Beautiful Mind phase you were talking straight up _nonsense_."

"I don't remember any of that," Barry said honestly. "Last thing I remember was going into the Speed Force with my mom and then saving Cait."

"So how'd you know Caitlin was in trouble?" Joe asked.

Once again, Barry just plain looked _happy_. "I don't know," he responded with a shrug.

Caitlin peered curiously at him. There wasn't a single shred of the darkness that had invaded his features since his dad died. There wasn't that weighty look in the lines of his forehead or the slight down-curve of his lips. He looked younger then he had in a long time, and just so happy. It made her smile.

Barry turned to Cisco. "Well, thanks for bringing me home."

Cisco grinned and the two of them hugged again. "You are very welcome."

Iris nodded at him. "And thanks for believing in him when I was too scared to," she said quietly.

Cisco nodded, smiling softly at her. "See you tomorrow, boss."

"Yeah," Iris murmured, giving him one last look and leaving the room.

Cisco approached Caitlin as she was putting on her coat, Barry waiting for her in the corner. "I know we left some questions unanswered, but I have to know," he said seriously to her. "Are we gonna see you tomorrow?"

Caitlin straightened her leather jacket and tucked her hair behind her ears, sending him a smile. "Yeah, you will."

Cisco nodded, looking pleased, and watched as Barry tucked her under his arm and they walked out together.

"We back, baby," Cisco murmured under his breath, and finally everything was just as it should be.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin and Barry stood together outside of STAR Labs, watching the sunset. "I'd, uh, love to go home," Barry said awkwardly. "But... I don't know if I even have a home to go back to?"

Caitlin had to smile at his adorkableness. "Joe, Wally, Cisco and Iris all took turns keeping up your apartment while you were gone," she told him. "It's still there, waiting for you in case you came back."

"What about you?" Barry said softly.

"I..." Caitlin bit her lip and looked away. "Well, um... I'm working at a bar. _Worked_ at a bar. I'm going to quit tomorrow morning before heading to STAR Labs."

Barry tilted his head, watching her. "You left Team Flash?"

There wasn't any judgement in his voice, but Caitlin wrapped her arms around herself defensively. "Look," she said, voice cracking a little. "When I said I would come back it was so that we could help each other heal. With you... with you _gone_ , there was no one that I felt like I could talk to. I just couldn't _do_ it, okay? Each and every day was a reminder that you were gone, and being at STAR Labs, trying to act like everything was fine, was just making it worse. So yes, I- I left, and I got a new apartment and a new job and a new-"

"Wardrobe?"

Caitlin glanced up from the ground in surprise. Was he... joking?

Barry smiled down at her, his eyes filled with love. "Whatever you had to do to get yourself through the last few months, I understand. It was what you needed to do. But now... Caitlin, I'm back, and I'm here, and I'm not going away ever again."

Caitlin tilted her head, tears sparkling on her eyelashes.

Barry stepped forward, gently grasping her upper arms and making sure she was looking at her. "I don't know.. maybe this was a good thing."

"You being gone for six months?" Caitlin clarified incredulously.

Barry shrugged, eyes still holding the same joyful light. "I don't know- how I feel- it's hard to explain. It's like all the pain from my past... everything that's been weighing me down... it's all gone. All I see is you and us and our future and everything that we can have. I'm ready for all of that with you."

Caitlin nodded, licking her lips. Barry pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back gratefully. She wasn't sure if being able to hug him would ever get old now that she had been without it for so long.

"Do you want to head home?" Barry asked softly, pulling back.

Caitlin nodded. No words had to be exchanged for them to know that they were both going back to Barry's place.

Barry swept Caitlin up into his arms and began to run. Caitlin shut her eyes and rested her cheek against Barry's shoulder, having forgotten how dizzying moving at super speed was when you weren't doing the actual running.

She opened her eyes as she felt the air current around her slow, and Barry set her down.

"It should be unlocked," Caitlin said softly, watching him stare blankly at the door and realizing he didn't have a key. "They knew you were coming back today."

"Convenient," Barry said with another one of his new, bright side-smiles. He turned the handle and the two of them walked inside.

Nothing had really changed since they had left. The couch was the same, with two cushions resting on either end. The coffee table still had water rings from so many forgotten glasses without coasters, and no one had gotten hooks for the curtains to hang on while they were open yet. The rug had the same odd pattern and the kitchen table was clean except for a couple appliances. The dishwasher was open like someone had recently emptied it, and the framed photograph of Caitlin and Barry that Cisco had taken was still resting on the side table in the living room.

Caitlin felt tears brim in her eyes, but these were the happy kind. She hung her leather jacket over the hook next to the door, and Barry did the same with his coat, looking around.

He glanced at her, and his soft smile turned into a full-out grin. "I like your new style."

"Pardon?" Caitlin asked, glancing down at herself. "Oh! Oh, the clothes. Um, thanks. They fit in better at the bar I worked at than dressing like... well-"

"Like a high school principal?" Barry finished with a laugh.

" _Yes_ , that," Caitlin agreed, laughing too.

The two of them went further into the apartment and Caitlin let out a long sigh. "You probably want to sleep."

"I feel like I've been sleeping for months," Barry admitted, sitting down on the couch. "What I want to do now is talk. Tell me everything, Cait. All the good parts, and the bad parts, and the exciting parts and the boring parts and all the stories from the bar, and what you had for dinner every night-"

"For six months?!" Caitlin asked incredulously. "I don't even remember what I had for dinner last week."

Barry laughed. "Me neither," he admitted. "Though I kind of doubt I ate in the Speed Force."

Caitlin peered at him curiously. "Interesting... I wonder if your body was in a sort of balanced state? Like how the idea of freezing someone can help them resist bodily degeneration, hunger, sickness, age, all of that. It would explain why it looks like you haven't aged at all even though it's been half a year."

Barry gave her a loving look and Caitlin blushed, suddenly self conscious. "What?"

"You," he said simply, pulling her down to kiss her. "I forgot how much I love you, I guess."

A warm glow tingled in Caitlin's chest and she bit her lip happily. Barry slung his arm around her and she tucked her knees up on the couch, leaning against his chest. It was incredibly nice to be close to him again.

"What has been the best part of your last six months?" Barry asked quietly, tracing distracting circles on the exposed skin of her hip.

"Mmm..." Caitlin mumbled, feeling her eyes shut and her body start to yell at her to let it sleep. She had pulled an all-nighter last night, and the day hadn't exactly been emotionally relaxing. "I... liked working at the bar..."

"Did you?" Barry asked, sounding surprised.

"Mhm. I liked mixing drinks and listening to people's conversations. I saw at least twenty breakups and quite a few movie-caliber kisses. One time two people were kissing so much that they actually fell of their stools."

Barry snorted with laughter. "Sounds like you had an interesting time."

"That's one way to describe it," Caitlin murmured. She snuggled closer to Barry and wrapped an arm around his waste.

"You should get some sleep," Barry whispered, pressing his lips to her hair.

" 'm fine here," Caitlin mumbled. "Let's just sleep here tonight."

He shifted them so they were laying down, curled together on the couch.

Caitlin was asleep within minutes, surrounded by the warmth of Barry's arms and the knowledge that he was finally home.

 **Author's Note: AHHHH I LOVE SEASON PREMIERSSSS!**

 **There are SO MANY episodes in Season 4 that I am excited to write! Let me know what you are excited for in the comments :)**


	2. 4x02

**Author's Note: Second chapter! The beginning of this episode was beyond cute :)**

It was around seven o'clock when Caitlin woke up, bundled in the blankets of Barry's bed and surprisingly alone.

Caitlin usually got up earlier then seven, but Barry did not, and it took a bit for Caitlin to wake up enough to try and figure out where he'd gone. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and then got out of bed with a groan. She was a little bit disappointed- even though Barry had been home for a little while, Caitlin was still soaking in every bit of his return, and she felt as though she was seriously missing out with just one day waking up without him.

Yawning, Caitlin put her hair into a big bun and slipped on one of Barry's shirts. She went quietly down the steps to the first floor, only to find a very amusing (and rather adorable) sight.

Barry was singing into a spatula, dressed in nothing but a barely button collard shirt, white socks, and his boxers, and dancing around the kitchen. Smiling, Caitlin leaned against the wall of the stairwell and watched him.

After he had danced a bit around the living room, Barry ran over the sink and flipped a pancake. For a moment he was nothing more then a blur of speed lightning flashing around the small kitchen, but before Caitlin could blink he was back in normal time to catch the pancake. The table was now set with a delicious looking, put together breakfast.

Shaking her head and smiling, Caitlin turned around and went back up the stairs to get into other clothes. When she came back down, some of the breakfast had been eaten and Barry was now sitting in front of a rapidly moving television screen.

"What?" he gasped, shocked. Then, "No..." Then he laughed, before another, "No! Huh?"

"Barry?" Caitlin asked with a smile, coming into the room.

Barry quickly took his feet off of the coffee table and glanced up, smiling brightly. "Hey!"

"You're up early," Caitlin commented. "Watching... what exactly?"

"Uh, I'm just catching up on all the T.V. I missed while I was stuck in the Speed Force. When you've been gone six months the world is a _minefield_ of spoilers. But Cisco hooked me up with a one-thousand-times sped up version of my favorite shows. Aw, John Snow died. Oh, he's alive!"

Grinning, Caitlin grabbed a piece of sausage from Barry's plate and sat down beside him. "Oh," she said, looking over at him with a smile. "Here I was thinking you'd need a jumpstart for your sleepy brain."

"No," Barry said, smiling back at her. "Brain good. All of me is good."

He leaned forward to kiss her but his phone buzzed on the table. "Oh, Joe needs me," Barry reported, hopping up and pausing the rapidly playing television. He must have missed at least three episodes in the less than a minute he was talking to her, Caitlin thought.

"That's okay," Caitlin said as Barry rushed off to find some pants. She reached over to the side table and grabbed a large white folder. "I should probably get started on our neglected plans. It's going to take me forever to get through this binder."

"Oh no, don't worry about it," Barry said, coming back over to the living room. "I'm done with it."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows. He must have gotten up _really_ early. "You're done?"

"I locked in a caterer, got your favorite flowers, I put a deposit on the menu, I got that seven tear raspberry chocolate cake..."

Caitlin's eyebrows went up even higher. Part of her was really relieved that she didn't have to spend all of her time doing this. The other part, the part she was almost ashamed off, was frustrated. Normal couples did all their wedding planning together, no matter how stressful or unpleasant.

Granted... normal couples didn't have to deal with the man disappearing for months and the woman turning evil.

"Looks like you've got it covered," Caitlin said with a smile.

"So my lovely fiancé can remain stress-free," Barry responded, leaning in and kissing Caitlin before pulling back and rushing toward the door. "Save me a bear claw?"

"Promises, promises, Speedster," Caitlin teased. "You whoosh, you loose."

With one last smile, Barry turned and flashed out of the room.

 **Flash!**

After Barry, Cisco and Joe got back from the disgusting elevator crime scene, they called a meeting a STAR Labs to explain details.

"The Cortex's quantum algorithm should decrypt this code in no time. Then we can ID our new hacker," Cisco said, plugging the USB into his computer and watching as it scanned through the code on it in flashes of Java script. "While we wait, I've got a little welcome back gift for you."

Barry quirked his head interestedly, eyes following Cisco as he spun around the desk and strode towards the display case in the front of the room. "Come come!" Cisco called. "Walk with your boy! Gather 'round, class!"

Smirking, Caitlin and Barry exchanged glances and followed Cisco as he dramatically whipped a grey sheet off of the Flash mannequin.

"Kablam!" Cisco yelled, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I mean, that was cool reveal and everything, but I've seen that suit," Barry said with a half-smile. "I've actually already... worn it."

"We all know you gave _Barry's_ suit a nice little fancy makeover," Wally grumbled from the corner, sounding quite jealous.

"Ah, but you don't know what you don't know," Cisco deflected. "And underneath all of this red beautiful I've built in self-repairing armor, nano-liquid circuitry, full spectrum scanning, and a whole bunch of other big words- chief among them..." He clicked a button on his tablet and yellow sliders came down over the eyes of the mask. "Your very own custom made hood. This thing is loaded with maps, schematics, delivery menus- you know that Thai place you love so much?"

"Yeah!" Barry agreed excitedly, clapping Cisco's hand and half-hugging him. "Dude! This is _awesome_. What else does it do?"

He stepped forward, peering up at the suit, and Cisco grabbed a huge white binder from the chair next to him. "Well, lucky for you, I even wrote you an instruction manual."

Barry beamed down at it. "Yay!"

"C'mon," Cisco grinned. "We're not Cavemen."

" _Really_ good work," Iris called from her desk, where she was watching the whole exchange.

Cisco sauntered out of the Cortex. "I know!"

"I will look at this later!" Barry proclaimed, setting the manual back down on the chair and making for the exit. "I gotta head to the CCPD. And you can blame this on Cisco, but I'm thinking Thai tonight?"

Caitlin nodded her agreement, then paused. "I think we have a training session tonight, though," she said with a sigh. "Iris set one up so we can test out your new suit. I'm probably not going to be up for going out to eat after that."

Barry grinned and kissed her on the nose. "I'll see if I can get her to change it."

Caitlin smiled and shook her head. "Barry... I know that you're back and you are feeling very confident, but it can't hurt to get some training in, right? You've taken a _long_ break from being a Speedster. Anyone would be rusty."

Barry sighed. "Don't worry, Caitlin! I'm not rusty; I swear. I'll talk to her when I come back to the lab this afternoon."

He spun around, waved, and walked off.

Caitlin's mouth twisted to the side, and she rubbed her hands together a few times. Iris walked over. "He wants to cancel training, does he?"

"Yeah," Caitlin sighed. "I'm sorry, Iris. You know how he gets when he has his mind set on something. Lately, though... well, ever since he's come back it's almost like he's wanting to make up for all the time he was gone by doing _everything_ for me. Including making decisions. For example: This morning he told me he went through all of our wedding plans and reserved everything and got the cake and while I appreciate that _so much_ , I feel like... you know. We're planning a wedding. Shouldn't we do that _together_?"

Iris nodded. "I've noticed that too, to be honest," she agreed. "I don't even know if he knows that he's doing it. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to talk to him?"

"I don't know," Caitlin shrugged, sighing. "He's just been so _happy_ lately. I don't want him to think that he's doing something wrong just by trying to be helpful."

Iris nodded again, and was about to say something else when an alarm started to blare. Her brow furrowed and she rushed around the desk to the computer. "Unauthorized breach incoming," she reported, looking up at Caitlin in alarm. "We gotta move."

Uninvited fear spiked through Caitlin. She felt Killer Frost's presence starting to bubble up inside of her, and turned, eyes flashing blue.

" _Don't change don't change don't change_ ," Caitlin begged herself under her breath.

"Caitlin!" Iris yelled, already halfway out the exit. "Let's go!"

Caitlin blinked, got ahold of herself, and followed Iris out of the Cortex.

 **Flash!**

Wally and Barry ran into the Cortex, where Iris was already set up with a tracker. "Guys! There's a car going 120 and swerving through lanes of traffic. Someone's gonna get killed. You both need to get out there."

"It's one car," Barry deflected. "I got this."

He had flashed to his suit, changed, and left the room before Wally could even finished his sentence. "But I could help you," he mumbled, letting out a frustrated breath.

"Okay, guys," Barry reported after a few seconds. Caitlin came down the steps from her lab, tilting her head curiously. "It's a runaway. The driver's trapped inside. I'm gonna change his directory."

"Turn him left," Caitlin instructed, peering at the map. "There's a turn-off for runaway trucks coming up."

Iris nodded her agreement. "It's a clear path, and the car will come to a safe stop."

"No- I'm gonna push him right," Barry replied. "The street's empty; I can help him there."

Iris and Caitlin exchanged glances. Caitlin's lips pursed. "Barry..."

"You can't go down that road!" Iris interrupted, much more comfortable with arguing with her surrogate brother.

"What? Why?" Barry asked, confused.

"Because they started construction on that street three months ago!" Iris replied, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

Thankfully, Barry was able to disassemble the runaway car before the man inside could go smashing into a concrete wall that bard the construction site. All that remained was a leather seat and steering wheel when the vehicle finally came to a stop.

Barry got himself back to STAR Labs, feeling a bit embarrassed. Caitlin was walking down the corridor by the time he arrived, and he jogged a little to catch up to her. "Hey, about what happened... I'm sorry. I should have listened to you and Iris. But sometimes when I'm out there things move so fast, and I'm really excited to be the Flash again. Anyway, I hope you're not mad."

Caitlin gave him a look. Even with his adorably endearing, happy expression, there were things that needed to be said, and she wasn't about to chicken out of it.

"And.. you are," Barry continued, catching the look. "You're mad, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not mad," Caitlin disagreed. "However, we need to talk."

"Oh." Barry looked mildly alarmed. "Um... that's never good."

Unable to help a small smile, Caitlin shook her head. "It's nothing _bad_ , okay? There are just a few things that I need to get off my chest."

"Okay, okay, yeah," Barry nodded. "Um... do you want to go somewhere other than the hallway, though?"

"That would... yes. Yes, let's do that."

They set off down the corridor toward one of the many unused rooms in STAR Labs. When they arrived, Caitlin pulled up a chair, sat down, and took a deep breath. "Look, Barry. I love that you are back. I'm happier than I have been in a _very_ long time. But you have to realize that things aren't immediately going to snap back to the way they were before you left."

"Yeah, I know that," Barry said, nodding.

"Okay." Caitlin bit her lip and took on of his hands. "You have been _so_ happy since you got back from the Speed Force. But I was talking to Iris this afternoon and I think I finally voiced what's so off. It's almost as if you are trying to make up for all the time you missed by doing everything. I mean... you went through our entire wedding plans without me. And, while I appreciate it, our wedding is supposed to be something we do _together._ As a _couple_.

'It's not just that. You've been doing it to everyone else, too. It's almost as if you're making their decisions for them- like Iris, when you canceled her training and didn't follow her leadership this afternoon. And Wally, how you didn't let him help you stop that car. I just think that... as a whole Team... there are things that we all need to work through after six months of you being gone. I mean, I'm still trying to figure out where I belong in the Team after I left. With Iris as the leader, and Wally and Cisco as superheroes... we just need to all figure out our places again."

Barry's brow furrowed. "So... what you're saying is...?"

"What I am saying is that we- all of us, not just you and me- need to work on... syncing, a bit more."

"We need a sync up," Barry agreed. "I get it. Okay."

"Okay?" Caitlin let out a long breath. "Okay. Yeah. Thank you for... listening. Thank you for listening."

"I will try to be better about doing that all the time," Barry said softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "And every single bit of wedding planning after this will be together."

"Okay," Caitlin repeated in a soft voice. "That sounds good."

 **Flash!**

After Caitlin and Cisco (well, really Caitlin and _then_ Cisco) figured out that the virus that had been in the elevator and Tim's car was actually like a human strand of DNA, and then how to crack that said DNA, the Flash was off to fight Killgore.

It went wrong surprisingly fast.

"Guys," Barry reported, feeling the suit tense up so that he couldn't move. "Guys, he's done something to my suit."

Cisco's voice, computerized, spoke up. " _Remote access complete._ "

Joe raised his eyebrow. "You put your voice in Barry suit?!"

"Well it had to be _somebody_ ," Cisco defended. "And my voice is soothing."

Caitlin didn't care about voices or soothingness or really any of what they were talking about. She was a bit more concerned about the fact that Barry was now _inside a suit that was being taken over by a tech-controlling meta_. "How much tech did you put in the suit?" she demanded, her worry coming through with the sharpness of her tone.

Cisco got a haunted look on his face. "So much..." he whispered.

Back at the fight scene, Barry was still unable to move. Killgore walked over to him, admiring his suit. "I've actually always been a huge Flash fan these last couple of years," he admitted. "But this is like having a giant action figure."

Barry suddenly flipped over and crashed unto his back. He struggled to get up, but he still couldn't move.

"Oh crap, he's locked me out of my own program!" Cisco exclaimed, pounding his fingers against his computer screen.

"Do something!" ordered Iris.

"Uh, Barry get away from him!"

Caitlin sent Cisco an annoyed glance. Usually, that would have made her laugh but she was actually _scared_.

Cisco shrugged helplessly. "It might lessen his technopathic hold on you!" he cried, defending his idea.

"I can't," Barry responded, breathing heavily.

"Who are you talking to?" Killgore asked, peering down at Barry, who was still on the ground. "Is someone listening in? Can't have that."

"Barry?" Cisco asked, finger pocking at the comm button on his screen. "Barry! His comms are offline."

Caitlin sank into a chair, an icy feeling up panic creeping up her chest. If Killer Frost surfaced now... she didn't want to think about it. Trying to calm herself, Caitlin closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"You have a defibrillator," Killgore commented. "How about I stop your heart?!"

Tim, the poor man who had been trapped in his car, and then later kidnapped by Killgore, took that moment to get to his feet and run. Killgore's gaze whipped to him, and Barry saw his opportunity. The psychic bond lessening with Killgore's lack of focus, Barry was able to throw himself to his feet and flash off.

He wizzed around the warehouse, unsure if he could stop. His suit was still fritzing and he ended up crashing into a pile of boxes. Rolling to his feet, Barry spotted a public telephone in the corner.

In the Cortex, the phone suddenly started ringing. Caitlin frowned, confused, and Iris pressed the receive button.

The robotic voice spoke: " _You have a public call from-"_

"Guys, help me!" Barry interrupted, sounding desperate.

"We accept the charges!" Iris said as quickly as possible so that the robotic voice wouldn't interrupt again and cut Barry off.

"The suit is still freaking out," Barry said into the phone.

"Well, get it off!" Caitlin cried.

A couple seconds later, Barry was back. "Nope, yeah, I can't get it off."

Cisco winced. "...That would be the deadlock function I built in case he ever got knocked out so a bad guy wouldn't reveal his identity- _it seemed like a smart idea at the time!_ "

 _"_ _Floatation mode activated_ ," a voice said, barely audible through the phone.

"What the heck does he need a raft for, Cisco?!" Joe asked incredulously.

Cisco shrugged. "He runs on water! He might loose his speed out there; what's he gonna do then? He might drown."

Caitlin stalked over, glaring. "You couldn't just put an oxygen tank in the suit?!"

"That's a good idea," Cisco admitted, pointing at her.

"CISCO!" Barry sudden yelled through the phone.

 _"_ _Babel protocol activated_ ," Cisco's computer-voice said.

"What?!" Barry gasped. "W-what's babel protocol? Why am I ticking?"

Cisco looked positively horrified. "It's the self-destruct sequence," he mumbled.

" _What?!_ " Caitlin and Joe yelled.

"I'm sorry!" Cisco yelled back defensively. "Have we not faced an evil version of Barry before?! My mistake!"

Barry, still on the phone, interrupted the argument about to break out between Caitlin and Cisco. "How do I stop it?!"

Gripping the edge of Cisco's desk, Caitlin stared at him. "Cisco, there must be something we can do."

"Not as long as this thing's powered up."

Caitlin bit her lip and hurried over to the phone. "Barry, can you hear me?"

"Yes, yes!" Barry yelled. "Caitlin- Caitlin I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything that happened over the past six months. I know that I messed everything up and coming back here expecting it to be perfect again wasn't right. I'm so sorry. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Iris looked up suddenly, an idea forming. "Barry!" she called over to the phone. "I've got an idea. You need to throw a lightning bolt."

"At what?!"

"Yourself. It might short the suit out. Give you a chance to get out."

Caitlin gaped at her. "Or it might stop his heart!"

Iris gazed at her desperately. "Do we have a choice?!"

" _No_ ," Caitlin breathed. "Barry, do what she says."

"Okay," Barry replied immediately. "Okay, I'll do it. I trust you."

A couple impossibly tense seconds later, they heard a terrific crash through the phone line. Caitlin, hand over her mouth, crept forward. "Barry?" she asked tentatively.

There was no response for a good few minutes, where everyone in the Cortex held their breaths. Caitlin's hands, now resting on Iris' desk, trembled.

Then: "Guys. I'm here. I'm bringing Killgore back."

 **Flash!**

"You!" Caitlin cried, rushing down the hallway and pocking Barry hard in the chest. "You are so _very_ lucky that lightning trick worked. I now remember how _peaceful_ the last six months were not having to worry about you dying every three minutes!"

She realized a couple seconds after that she had basically just said that Barry being gone was peaceful, but thankfully he understood what she meant and wrapped an arm around her, laughing.

Once inside the Cortex, Barry changed out of his suit and leveled Cisco with a look. "I think it may be... wise to remove the tech from this suit?"

"Uh..." Cisco rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. Maybe that's... maybe that's wise."

Barry nodded, before smirking. "Though, your voice is so _very_ soothing-"

"Oh shut up," Cisco muttered, shoving him in the shoulder and turning red. "Now I'm leaving. I've got a date."

"Enjoy," Caitlin called after him, shaking her head. Turning to Barry a bit more seriously, she said, "Look, I'm really glad you're okay."

"Yes. I am glad about that as well," Barry agreed, smiling. "See? All's well that ends well, right?"

She nodded her agreement, and he kissed the top of her head. "Alright. Joe and I want to have a bit of a talk with Killgore at Iron Heights, figure out where he came from and what he's up to. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She smiled, glad that he was giving her the opportunity to go home and take care of things at her house for the night. "Sounds good."

 **Author's Note: OKAY SO. I know I didn't use the therapy scene which makes me SO SAD because those therapy scenes are** ** _hilarious_** **. I have nothing against therapy, of course, but Caitlin and Barry have been together for like three years so I just feel like they'd be able to talk it out.**

 **I dunno. Hopefully no one was too disappointed :D**


	3. 4x03

**Author's Note:** **Sorry for the long wait- I was at a camp for two weeks and haven't been on my computer much.**

 **Now, this opening scene may have been the best Snowbarryisco scene in the** ** _entire season_** **(granted there were only like 3, so that definitely helps it's chances).**

The blue tinted fog surrounded Barry's vision. Straining his ears, he thought he heard Cisco yell. "BARRY! Where are you?!"

"I don't know!" Barry rounded the corner, gripping his gun. "I lost Caitlin; there's too many of them, man."

"No!" Cisco cried. "You can take them, just listen to me. You just need to do one thing: Run Barry. Run!"

Resolve strengthening, Barry shot to his feet and charged out of his hiding spot.

About three guns started rapid-firing, and his battle cry turned into a groan as his laser-tag chest-plate powered down. "C'mon," Barry huffed, glaring at the three middle school aged kids that had shot him down. "They got me," he called over his shoulder to Cisco, who shook his head.

"You have failed this city!" he groaned, before running out into the open himself. Before he could even fire his gun, his own chest-plate powered down.

Barry sighed, and pointed above.

"For real, Chad?" Cisco asked, shaking his head. Chad smirked and blew invisible smoke from the barrel of his gun. "In the back?"

"Suck it, old man," Chad sassed.

Barry and Cisco both gave him extremely affronted expressions. Caitlin jogged up behind them, still holding her gun. "Wait; did you guys die already?" she asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Chad-" Cisco started.

Barry pouted. "He just told us that- ugh, never mind. Come on. Come on."

"I don't know what's wrong with kids these days. Churlish."

Shaking her head in disappointment at Chad, though she didn't even know what he had said, Caitlin raised her gun and fired a few shots at him before walking off after her best friends.

They returned their laser-guns and chest-plates at the front desk before joining Iris outside at a picnic table. As they sat waiting for Cecil and Joe to arrive with food, red-headed Chad and his band of middle-school friends strode by.

"You better watch yourself, Chad," Cisco, who was sitting on the picnic table, called out. "Meet me in the paintball field next time. I'll kick your little a-" suddenly his face transformed, and he cut himself off mid-swear. "Heeey, Ms. McConnel! How you doin'? Chad's a treasure. He really is."

Joe took the opportunity to arrive. "Pretzel for Caitlin," he said, placing the food down in front of her. "Corndog for Iris. Two fries for Cisco, and three burgers, five churros, and six funnel cakes for Barry."

Caitlin laughed outright as Barry's stomach growled and he rubbed his hands together, grinning like a small child.

"Look at all of this junk!" Cecil said, shaking her head. "Guys, I'm really sorry. If the pipes in the house weren't making this weird, annoying sound, I would have had you all over for dinner."

"Squeaky pipes at the West house, what a surprise," Barry deadpanned, exchanging knowing looks with Iris, who nodded her agreement.

"Really?" Cecil seemed intrigued. "You're familiar with this sound?"

"Oh, yeah," Iris nodded. "You mean the..." She started squeaking horribly, making Barry and Joe laugh.

"It's been doin' that for..." Barry's eyebrows scrunched, thinking hard. "18 years?"

"Hey," Joe cut in before Iris could start imitating more parts of the house. "Every house has a personality. Ours just likes to be heard."

Barry's phone suddenly buzzed on the table next to his extensive plates of food. He glanced down at it, then grabbed it, eyes going wide. "Oh my gosh, they broke up! The Westler-Walkerlegs broke up!"

Caitlin's mouth fell open. "Yes!" She high-fived Barry before looking a little more subdued. "I mean, that's really sad. But yay!"

Cisco let out a strained laugh. "Who are the Westler-walker-whatevers and why are we happy that their love is dead?"

"They were the couple that was getting married at the Peezio the weekend of the second," Caitlin explained to the blank faces. "Which means now the venue is open!"

"That's amazing!" Iris commented, nodding. "What good luck!"

"Yeah," Barry grinned.

"So now we just need to put a deposit down," Caitlin said, grabbing for Barry's phone.

"I'll run it over," he offered.

"Nope!" she turned the phone screen to him. "Already got it."

Suddenly, everyone's phones, save for Cecil, buzzed. "Oh, breach alert guys," Iris reported, getting to her phone first. "We gotta go."

Cisco grabbed on of his two orders of fries, and Barry stuffed another funnel cake in his mouth before grabbing a churro for the road. Then the whole Team ran off to STAR Labs.

 **Flash!**

After finding out that the breach carried none other than Harry Wells over to their Earth, and that Jesse was breaking up with Wally through what Harry called a "Break-Up Cube", the Team turned their attention to a bank robbery happening down town.

Barry changed into his suit and flashed off. Team Flash watched the security footage, which showed a very odd string of events happening that made it possible for their new robber to just casually walk into a bank and take a couple bagfuls of money.

"I'm almost there," Barry reported.

"She's getting away in a Prius," Iris informed him, watching the feed as Cisco quickly hopped from street-cam to street-cam.

"Last time I checked the Flash is faster then a Prius."

He was just about to reach the car when a cylinder of marbles fell off of a truck parked on the side of the road. The tiny round balls went all over the street, and Barry's foot rolled straight over them.

Up into the air he went, flipping spectacularly before landing with a thump on his stomach.

" _What the heck_?!" Barry mumbled, fingering a marble and staring around him in confusion.

When he got back to STAR Labs, Caitlin looked up at him in raised her eyebrows. "Marbles. That's a first."

Barry huffed, and Cisco pulled up the footage from the scene of the crime. The main camera was swinging all over the place, and they had no clearer of a picture than they had when they were first watching it. "That is the least secure security footage that I've ever seen," Cisco commented.

"Yeah, that's not even the weirdest thing she made happen," Barry said, shaking his head. "I mean, I slipped on a barrel of marbles. It was if I was in a cartoon."

Caitlin winced sympathetically, though she still thought it was a little funny. "That's some _seriously_ bad luck."

"There's no such thing as luck," Harry muttered.

"Yeah?" Cisco turned around, raising his eyebrow. "Say that to my cousin Hector. He got jinxed by an ex... hasn't been able to find a good parking spot for three years."

Caitlin snorted with laughter, though the nose was thankfully covered up by Iris and Joe's entrance. "Hey," Iris called. "So, we ran the sketches of the robber you made us through the CCPD database, and..."

"Her name's Becky Sharp," Joe finished as the picture of a young woman came up onto the screen. "She's 24 years old, no priors.."

"No priors?" Barry's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Then... why is she in the database?"

"Because in the last three years she lived in Central City she's been rear-ended four times, her identity stolen twice, a cat burglar _actually_ burgled her cat..."

Barry whistled softly and Cisco shook his head. "You see, Harry? That is some seriously bad juju."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Okay, Ramon. What you call juju, I call quantum entanglement. Discrete quantum particles are connected, and when triggered they simulate a synchronicity that, too the untrained eye -to the _common_ eye- it could seem like luck."

"So, if Becky can affect the particles around her in a positive way, then their connected particles start spinning negatively?" Barry confirmed.

"So when good things happen to her, bad things happen all around her," Caitlin agreed, trying to put it into a bit more "normal English" for the Wests' sake.

"Great," Cisco sighed. "She's got a good luck field."

"She's a meta?" Joe asked.

"Well, except she can't be," Iris argued. "I mean, she's only been in Central City for three years."

"Yeah, so there's no way she was affected by the Particle Accelerator Explosion," Caitlin agreed.

Harry hummed thoughtfully, but Barry shrugged. "Neither was Killgore," he reminded them. "But we saw firsthand what he could do."

Joe rubbed his forehead. "Not to sound like a broken record, but where the heck are all these new metas coming from?"

"You know what? Maybe the scanners in the suit picked something up," Cisco suggested thoughtfully, turning to his computer.

Barry gave him a look. "You said you took all the tech out!"

"Okay, well, I left something in, okay? Sue me."

Joe's phone buzzed as Barry and Harry wandered over to see what Cisco had. "Cecil needs me at the house," he told them, turning to leave. "You guys let me know what you find out."

"There," Harry said after something beeped. He pointed to the screen, and Cisco sent him an annoyed look.

"Yeah, I see it. The suit definitely recognized trace amounts of Dark Matter on Becky."

"So if there was another Dark Matter incident..." Caitlin started.

"We need to figure out how and where it happened, ASAP." Barry finished, exchanging a glance with her.

Harry nodded his agreement. "I'll calibrate your satellite to scan for the same Dark Matter found in your suit!"

"Uh, no you won't," Cisco said, shooting a glare at Harry. "Don't you- don't you touch that satellite!"

He ran after Harry, the sound of their argument fading down the hall.

Caitlin shook her head with a faint smile, then glanced down at her phone. "I've got to run home. I have a... delivery that should have been arriving soon." She barely managed to hide her excited grin as Barry gave her a quizzical look. "Love you."

"Bye," Barry called after her, still looking confused.

Caitlin hurried to her car and drove home, feeling a little guilty about leaving the scene of scientific investigation with a new meta on the loose but also way to excited to wait.

Her wedding dress had just arrived at her apartment, and she was _dying_ to try it on. It had looked so pretty online that she had ordered it right away, and she hoped that it would fit. With the schedule that she and Iris and Felicity (the other females in the wedding) had, planning dress shopping was going to be _hard_. Hopefully the girls wouldn't be too mad that she had gotten a wedding dress without asking their opinions.

Meanwhile, Barry was sent off to talk to Becky. He was hoping that he could talk some sense into her, or at least confirm that Cisco and Harry's theory about all of the metas being exposed to Dark Matter on a bus was correct.

He found Becky at Jitters, sitting and scratching away at one of the cards with the numbers underneath. Apparently she won, because she grinned excitedly and tapped her card against the table.

"Becky?" Barry asked softly, tilting his head. "Mind if I sit here?"

Becky looked up at him, her face scrunching. "Today's my lucky day, but you're really not my type," she said with a shrug.

"Can I sit?" Barry repeated, not waiting for a response and taking the seat across from her. "Um, Becky. Well, you're probably wondering how I know your name."

Becky shrugged. "It's written on my cup."

Barry, consequently diverted from his perfect entrance into his point, fumbled for a second. "Right, but, um, no. That's not how I know your name. You see, I work for the CCPD as a CSI. I investigate very... _special_ people."

Becky looked excited. "Celebrities?"

"No, not celebrities," Barry said awkwardly. "Metahumans. Which is what I think you are."

Becky looked confused. She let out a nervous laugh and reached for her coffee.

"See, I think you were exposed to Dark Matter on a city bus three weeks ago," Barry continued.

"I think I would know if I was exposed to "Dark Matter"." Becky deflected. "That's weird."

Barry was undaunted. "Becky, I know you've been having a _lot_ of luck lately, and that you took some money from the Central City Bank that doesn't belong to you."

Becky looked a little alarmed. "How do you know all that?"

"I just do. Look, getting powers... it's overwhelming. I'm sure you don't know how they work, or what you should do with them..."

"I have some idea."

Barry reached forward, but Becky gave him a look. "Ah ah ah. Do you really wanna... test your luck? Bad things happen to people who get in my way."

Barry looked slowly around Jitters. The pressure on a coffee machine was rising to dangerous levels. A waitress on the second floor lost her hold on the trey of coffees and they almost went spilling over the banister. Someone working on the Jitters sign turned his staple gun towards his face as it stopped working.

"Listen, CSI guy," Becky continued, turning Barry's attention back to her. "My entire life has been one piece of crummy luck after the next."

"We all have ups and downs in life-"

"No, not Becky Sharp," Becky sighed. "I have only _ever_ been dealt bad hands. But I knew one day the universe would see it made a mistake! And then _I'd_ have the run of the table. I got on that bus, and Lady Luck smiled on _me_."

Barry shook his head. "Becky, this isn't some higher power fixing a miscalculation. You have powers, and they're affecting everyone around you, making them feel as awful as you used to feel."

Becky glanced at her hands, letting out a small sigh. "I'm sorry about that," she admitted. "But maybe it's just their turn. Maybe for once everyone else can feel for a second how bad I've felt my entire life. Anyway. There is _nothing_ you can do to stop me."

She got out of her chair and started to walk backwards. Barry was about to go after her when he saw a drop of the coffee from the struggling waitresses mugs drip down toward the floor. It headed towards the dangerously-pressured coffee machine, which was about to explode, steam pouring from it. A mother and her baby walked through the doors as the worker pointed his staple gun at them and then his face again, still trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Tootles," Becky said, heading for the back exit.

Unable to follow her, Barry was forced to watch her leave.

 **Flash!**

For Caitlin, the afternoon was going significantly better. She had gotten back to her apartment and found the box that had her wedding dress in it. It was wrapped carefully in plastic and folded so that it wouldn't wrinkle, and she took it out _ever_ so carefully to try it on.

It had thin straps criss-crossing in the back, and was form fitting until it flared put a little at her waist, just the way she liked it, she spun around a few times, admiring it and feeling rather giddy, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Caitlin called instinctively, before gasping and yelling. "No, Barry, don't-"

It was too late. Barry opened the door and bobbed into her apartment. "Hey-"

" _Turn around_!" Caitlin hollered, and Barry's eyes widened for a half-second before he spun.

"I am I am I am!"

"Did you see?!" Caitlin demanded, scrambling for the blanket that was lying across her couch.

"I didn't see."

"You _saw_ ," Caitlin moaned.

Barry turned around cautiously. "I _did_ see... but just for a second."

"Which is like an eternity to a Speedster," Caitlin groaned. "You know it's bad luck to see a bride in her dress before the wedding day."

Barry winced. "Too late," he sighed.

Caitlin frowned. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

Barry winced even more. "The Peezio called. We're not going to be able to have our wedding there."

Caitlin's eyes went wide and she bit her lip. "What? Why?"

"Well, uh," Barry let out a puff of air. "The Villa burned down. I guess a creme brulee competition got a little heated."

Trying to stay positive, Caitlin took a deep breath. "Okay, well, thankfully we have our backup, right?"

Barry's shoulders slumped. "No, another couple booked it this morning."

Caitlin felt something in get crushed into tiny little pieces. She wanted to get married. A real marriage at a beautiful church surrounded by her friends and family. After all she and Barry had been through, was it really too much to ask? She sank into a chair, unsure of how to make the situation better.

Barry crouched down in front of her, quick to comfort. "It's okay, though. It's okay. If we can stop evil time-traveling speedster from destroying the planet we can find a wedding venue."

"Barry, our wedding is in _six weeks_ ," Caitlin reminded him, shaking her head.

"It'll work out, okay?" Barry insisted. "I would marry you anytime, anywhere."

Caitlin nodded, a little tearfully. She was still a little crushed, though. How on Earth were they supposed to find a venue to have their wedding with only six weeks of notice?

 **Flash!**

"Becky's quantum field is increasing," Caitlin reported nervously from her place behind her desk.

"I'm almost at the casino," Barry replied.

They had recently figured out that when Becky Sharp used good luck (oh _joy_ ) she caused a quantum field that could do some very, _very_ bad things. Things so bad that the particle accelerator somehow restarted and was about to explode. Again. The more luck Becky had, the less luck the rest of the city did. And now Becky Sharp had entered a casino, a place where good luck was really all you could win on.

Barry reached the casino and located Becky. He prepared to rush into super speed, but instead of speeding off toward the Good-Luck-Meta he slipped on some coins and crashed onto his back.

He _also_ somehow managed to cuff himself with the metahuman cuffs he had brought for Becky. "How is that even possible?" Barry muttered, staring at the cuffs in amazement.

"Barry, what happened?!" Iris demanded, confused as to why Becky wasn't already cuffed and city already saved.

"Well, she's playing the slots and, uh..." Barry sighed. "I cuffed myself."

Caitlin smiled faintly at how adorably hopeless that was, exchanging head-shakes with Iris. "Oh, honey."

"Yeah, I know," Barry groaned. "I need to get it off. It's dampening my powers!"

Iris snapped to attention and shook herself. "Yes, yeah, yes. I'm trying."

Down in the pipeline, Harry and Cisco were struggling to stop the Particle Accelerator. At the Wests' house, Joe and Cecil were trying to make it outside as their house started falling apart. And in the casino, Becky got the second cherry on one of the slot machines, and someone accidentally set off the fire alarm and freaked everyone out.

Things were getting worse.

"There's no fire!" Barry yelled, trying to get everyone to calm down. As he spoke, on of the signs suddenly broke off it's nail and crashed into his back. Pain flared across his neck and he tumbled to the ground.

"Barry, I can't get the cuffs off!" Iris said desperately.

"Yeah, well now we've got a sign to get off of me, too," Barry informed her.

"10 seconds to Particle Accelerator activation," Caitlin reported nervously. How could Harry and Cisco not have shut it down already?

Becky was clapping her hands, begging the slot machine to show three cherries as Barry watched in horror from underneath his sign. Somewhere up above Central City, a plane was veering towards the ground, both engines exploded and about to crash. Joe and Cecil tried to make themselves as small as possible in their rapidly deteriorating house.

Caitlin somehow managed to cut herself on the edge of her desk, though she didn't think it was very important considering the other things that were going on.

"Three..." Iris counted down. "Two..."

Caitlin scrunched her eyes up in anticipation, waiting for the entire building to explode...

A shockwave shot out from Particle Accelerator, slamming through the city. Right as Becky was about to get the last cherry, it changed to a star instead.

She sat back, her lucky streak finally ruined. "No..." she breathed. "What? A star? I don't understand! I lost?!"

Caitlin looked up cluelessly, unsure as to why they all weren't dead. "What just happened?"

Cisco's voice came through his walkie-talkie. "The hydrogen collision produced a charge that countered her quantum field. We did it!" He sounded relieved and amazed, and Caitlin had the feeling this hadn't been his idea.

Barry got himself sorted out and cuffed Becky, and she was soon back at STAR Labs, moping in the Pipeline.

Caitlin did a quick check-up on Barry's back and put a bandaid on her hand, and the two of them sat and waited while the rest of the Team filed into the room.

It was about then that Wally West joined them. Cisco was halfway through putting Becky's picture on the whiteboard, which held spaces for all the possible bus-metas, and so Wally took a quiet seat in the corner and simply watched.

"Two down," Iris said, nodding, satisfied.

"We got this," Cisco agreed, grinning.

"Yeah," Wally said, speaking up finally. "You do."

The rest of them frowned at each other, unsure of what to make of this comment. "Wally... what's wrong?" Joe asked, confused.

Wally stood up, his shoulders slumped. "You guys tell me. The city was about to blow up... no one realized I wasn't here."

Caitlin winced, feeling _incredibly_ guilty. How had she not noticed that one of the members of their team was just... gone?

"Where did you go, Wal?" Iris asked, eyebrows scrunching.

"I went to Earth 2 to see Jesse," Wally said, glancing around the room. Even more guilt filled Caitlin. She had _also_ managed to forget that Wally's girlfriend had broken up with him just two days ago. "I needed to hear it from her," Wally continued. "She told me she needs to focus on herself, and I get it. And I think I have to do the same."

Joe and Iris both frowned, confused, but Barry nodded. He understood how it felt when you needed time to figure yourself out.

"So..." Wally let out a sigh. "I'm leaving Central City."

"W- where are you going?" Joe asked, his voice soft.

Wally's spine straightened. "I'm going to go stay with a friend in Blue Valley."

"Every hero has their own journey," Barry spoke up, nodding at him. "Yours is taking you on a new path. You owe it to yourself to go."

Wally nodded back, looking relieved that at least one person supported his decision. He strode forward and wrapped Barry in a hug, which Barry returned with a small half smile.

Caitlin took her cue as he pulled back and hugged Wally herself. "Good luck," she whispered to him, and he nodded into her shoulder. She stepped back, standing next to Barry and taking his hand.

Wally said goodbye to the rest of the team, but soon he was walking out the door, shoulders straight and looking more at peace then he had in a long time.

"West leaves..." Harry muttered thoughtfully. "Allen returns, West leaves, move and counter move."

Barry frowned at the oddly riddle-like statement. "What's your point?"

"Simply that.. mysterious stranger comes down, seeks out the Flash..."

"Causes us to open the Speed Force," Caitlin added, tilting her head in consideration.

Iris nodded, catching on. "Which caused the creation of a dozen new metas."

"Wait," Joe spoke up. "You think... the guy being the Samurai Robot-"

"Samuroid," Cisco corrected.

"You think he _wanted_ us to create a busload of metas?"

Harry shrugged. "I think it's all connected."

"Why would anyone want to create metas?" Iris demanded.

"I don't know." Barry shook his head. "But whoever they are, they've got a seriously warped way of thinking."

Little did they know that someone was watching them, even in that moment, peering through the empty plastic eyes of the Samurai head Cisco had put on display.

Someone who had been watching them the whole time.

 **Author's Note: OOOH ominous endingggggggsssss...**

 **Honestly, I hate the Thinker so much. Like I just hate him. So much.**


	4. 4x04

**Author's Note: How is it possible that we're already on chapter four...? Hello, summer XD**

 **Alright. So. I had to make a** ** _very_** **difficult decision. When I put Iris and Cisco together, I did so thinking that I wasn't ever going to be writing about Gypsy. But now, here I am, re-writing season 4. Gypsy is a HUGE part of that, even if she and Cisco break up. Also... Iris and Cisco are going nowhere. And it creates more drama.**

 **But hey, we'll see where it all goes in later seasons. If Gypsy never comes back, maybe they'll get back together, right?**

"What do you mean, you broke up?!" Caitlin gasped, her jaw dropped and her eyes huge as she gaped at her best friend.

Cisco sighed, loudly. "I mean that we broke up!" he said again. "The tension was just too high when Iris started being a Team Leader. We were arguing about everything, because Barry really put _me_ in charge when he left for the Speed Force, but Iris thought that it was dumb to have the Team captain be a superhero at the same time. I honestly don't understand her reasoning- I mean, Barry did it for three years, right?"

"Right..." Caitlin said slowly. "So, instead of talking through it like a couple should you just called things off?"

"We _tried_ ," Cisco groaned. "We seriously tried. But we just kind of figured that things weren't working out right now."

"So you turned around and got a new girlfriend, just like that?"

"C'mon, Caitlin," Cisco said, slumping into a chair. "You know I've always kinda had a thing for Gypsy. Besides, I didn't start anything with her until, like, a solid 4 months after Iris and I broke up. That's legit, right? You don't expect me to be single forever, just because one girl dumped me?"

"No, no, of course not," Caitlin said hurriedly. "I just, you know, thought you two were so good for each other. Barry and I were rooting for you the whole way. Not that you and Gypsy aren't cute, of course, you are! It's just, well, Iris has already lost Eddie and everything... I just don't want her to be lonely."

"Iris West is _not_ lonely," Cisco said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, we're still friends. We still work together. We just figured that maybe dating wasn't the best thing, _right now_. So I'm trying to date another girl, see if it goes better, and she's gonna do whatever she wants to. See? Not a big deal."

Caitlin sighed heavily. "I suppose your right. I really shouldn't be meddling with you and Iris' affairs. As long as you're happy, Cisco."

"I am, really!" Cisco said, smiling widely. "Gypsy's great. A little scary, sometimes, but great. Really."

"Okay," Caitlin agreed. Then she paused. "Are you going to tell Barry?"

Cisco winced. "As long as he doesn't kill me in defense of his sister. Wally almost did. It was scary."

Caitlin giggled. "I'll make sure he doesn't kill you; I promise."

Cisco nodded, and they didn't speak about it anymore.

 **(My explanation for this breakup is located at the end of the top Author's Note, just in case you missed it and wanted to know why I did this :)**

 **Flash!**

Barry filled Joe in on their new leads on the bus metas after an uncomfortable viewing of an interview for a new mayoral candidate. The guy, named Bellows, was extremely annoying, and Barry and Joe were glad to escape up to Barry's lab.

"According to the Department of Transportation over 900 people rode that bus that day," Barry informed Joe as they both looked at the two photos of Killgore and Becky, up on his bulletin board.

"What about the bus driver?"

"That's where things get more interesting. He's dead. Drowned. In his own bathtub."

Joe nodded slowly, eyebrows raised. "That's not suspicious."

"Harry said it was all connected," Barry agreed. "I think he's right. The Samaroid pushing you guys to bring me back; me not coming out of the place you thought I would; the bus being at the exact right place to be hit by Dark Matter..."

"It was planned," Joe agreed.

"Yeah. By somebody smart."

"We're pretty smart," Joe said.

Barry shrugging, grinning. "Well, I think so."

"Well, let's look closer into the bus driver's death," Joe suggested. "It may give us a lead."

Barry nodded. "I'll have Iris pull up the autopsy report from the coroners office."

"That's good," Joe said. He noticed Barry giving him a strange, happy look, and frowned. "What?"

"I don't know," Barry said, wrinkling his nose. "But it's... this morning... you're, like, glowing."

"What do you mean, "Glowing"?" Joe asked, mimicking Barry's hand motion and frowning.

"I just mean you've got, like, a warmth about you. Like a light bright."

"There's no warmth, no glow, and _definitely_ no light bright," Joe countered, sounding rather defensive. "I'll see you at STAR Labs."

 **Flash!**

It was a good thing Caitlin found out about Cisco and Gypsy when she did, because that very afternoon she was introduced to none other than Gypsy's father.

"Why is the scariest person I've ever seen roaming our halls?" she asked, walking into the Cortex with her eyebrows raised. "Oh, good morning, Barry."

"Cisco," Barry and Joe replied as one. "And good morning," Barry added.

Nodding in understanding, Caitlin turned her attention to Iris, who had started speaking. "Okay, so I've got the coroner's report for the death of the bus driver, but it doesn't seem like there's any signs of foul play..."

She trailed off, Joe and Barry leaning over and joining Caitlin in looking at the tablet screen with her.

"Aside from him being the only one who could have told us who was on that bus," Joe commented.

"Now for his personal effects; let's see..." Iris frowned in concentration. "Credit cards, cash, receipts..."

"Wait, go back," Barry said, his eyes catching something on the screen Iris hadn't.

Iris scrolled back to the previous display, which was a card that read 'Ralph Dipney, Private Investigator' with a fingerprint in the center. Next to that was written: _I owe you $5 for the ride. 10/10/17._

"Ralph Dipney," Barry muttered.

"I'll be darned," Joe agreed.

"Who was Ralph Dipney?" Caitlin asked. "I feel like that name sounds familiar."

"He used to be a cop," Joe responded.

"Dirty cop," Barry added. "He got kicked off the force. I've probably mentioned his name to you."

"Why'd he get kicked out?" Iris asked.

"It's a long story," Joe murmured.

Iris quickly pulled up a profile and Barry turned to the screen, his lips scrunching. "That's him."

"Oh," Iris tilted her head, considering the picture. "He's handsome in a square-jawed, Oliver Queen kinda way."

Barry turned around and gave his sister a look. "For real?"

Iris shrugged, smirking. "Hey, I can look at who I want, buddy."

Barry rolled his eyes and turned back to the large screen on the wall as Iris zoomed in on the picture of the card Ralph had given the bus driver. "The IOU is dated the same day that I came out of the Speed Force," he noted.

"You think Dipney was on the bus that day?" Caitlin asked. "Maybe he's a metahuman now?"

Barry's lips pinched again unhappily. "Let's pay him a visit."

He was about to stride out when Caitlin caught his eye. "Hey," she said, speaking softly so everyone else in the room knew she was really just talking to Barry. "You seem... something. What happened with you and this Ralph guy?"

"Like Joe said," Barry evaded. "It's a long story."

He leaned down and pecked her on the lips, and Caitlin shrugged, knowing she would find out eventually. She leaned over and whispered to Iris: "Oliver Queen _is_ hot _."_

"Amen alleluia," Iris agreed.

 **Flash!**

Ralph Dipney had very much been on the bus that was hit by Dark Matter. He now had the disgusting, weird, but _very_ scientifically interesting ability to stretch.

The ability, unfortunately, was one that he had absolutely no control over. After being dangled off the building by a few guys that didn't like him all that much, Ralph's legs had stretched so long that he landed on his back in an alleyway, 5 stories lower. That was where Joe and Barry had found him, his legs a pile of stretch around him and decidedly in shock.

Those aforementioned legs were still just as long as they had been in the alleyway, and were now stretched almost halfway to the STAR Labs elevator, where they led to the Cortex and the medical bed.

Barry and managed to round up Ralph and bring him back to STAR Labs, where he and Caitlin were now trying desperately to calm him down.

A scream echoed down from the corridor, and soon Iris West was barreling into the Cortex. "GUYS!" she cried. "We have-"

"We know," Barry said.

" _What is happening to me?!_ " Ralph demanded, completely flipping out.

" _Breath_ ," Barry commanded. He and Caitlin made matching inhale-exhale motions with their hands.

"I am breathing," Ralph wheezed, eyes still locked on his ridiculously long legs.

"Clearly this guy is a meta," Iris muttered.

"This is interesting," Harry commented, seeming very calm with the whole thing. "It seems the Dark Matter has polymerized Dipney's cells."

"What the _heck_ is Dark Matter and why is it my cells?!" Ralph cried.

"You're saying the walls of every cell in his body have elasticized?" Caitlin asked, her face looking adorably intrigued.

"I'm saying they've formed an unbreakable bond at the atomic level. Now you can stretch these cells and stretch these cells..."

"Like silly putty!" Caitlin proclaimed, eyes wide with amazement.

Ralph gave her a horrified look. "I'm silly putty?"

"No," Barry and Caitlin assured him together.

Harry, however, shrugged. "Kinda."

" _I'm silly putty?!_ " Ralph grit out.

"Ralph!" Joe interjected before things could escalate more. "Who were the guys on the roof?"

"Is that _really_ the issue right now?" Ralph asked, gesticulating widely at his legs. "LOOK AT ME!" He reached up, grabbed Barry's coat collar, and yanked him down. "Allen, you and your STAR Labs crew better put me back together-"

"We're trying to help you!" Barry yelled, obviously infuriated at being grabbed like that.

"Yeah ri-"

"Would you shut up-"

"OKAY!" Caitlin yelled, pulled Barry away from Ralph before a fight could break out. She stood in between them, glaring at Barry until he was quiet and then glaring even harder at Ralph. "We can do this later; I just need a sample of blo- AH!"

She had grasped Ralph's arm, prepared to pull it until she could stick a needle into it, maybe a little less gently then she should have. Instead of making him lean over in bed, his entire arm stretched until it was a limp string in her hands. Sick with disgust, Caitlin abruptly dropped his arm, then accidentally stepped on it. When Ralph yelled in pain she stumbled back, put her hand on a depressor for a gas spray, and fell into Barry.

The spray hit Ralph and his entire face twisted.

Then he sneezed.

Ralph's face became liquid goo, oozing into his hands. "OOH..." Ralph groaned, voice coming out weird and muffled, but his lips, which were lying in his hand, somehow still moving. "Is that my face?!"

Joe turned around and vomited.

 **Flash!**

"You gotta fix him, Caitlin," Joe pleaded as they all stood around the Cortex, talking about Ralph's... situation. "My stomach can't take much more."

"I think I could stabilize his cells if I had a sample of his DNA from prior to when he was exposed to the Dark Matter on the bus," Caitlin told them.

Barry turned around from where he had been putting up Ralph's picture on the white board. He frowned. "Why? So he can go out and start hurting people like our other friends here? I think we should lock him up in the Pipeline."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows in an expression that clearly was half _excuse me?!_ and _do you really now?_ "He hasn't done anything," was what she said instead.

"Yet," Barry said. "Trust me. I know this guy. He's a bad guy."

"Barry..." Caitlin responded, her voice trailing off awkwardly. She wasn't enjoying this side of Barry that she was seeing. "I took an oath to help people. I'm a doctor. I can't just leave him in there like spaghetti."

Barry didn't seem to be listening. He had turned and picked up a marker, and, in bold black letters, wrote _VILLAINS_ at the top of the white board.

Iris raised her eyebrows, looking about as unimpressed as Caitlin felt. "Villains?"

"Yeah," Barry said. "Every person that was on that bus is now a thousand times more dangerous than they were before. Dipney included."

"What if he's changed?" Caitlin protested. She didn't know exactly what had gone on with Barry and Ralph, though she vaguely remembered that it hadn't been anything good. Still... everyone deserved a second chance, right?

"People don't change," Barry said, rolling his eyes.

Caitlin shook her head. "I did," she said bluntly. "When I became Killer Frost, you still believed in me."

"You're a good person," Barry told her softly. "He's... not."

Caitlin let out a long sigh, and Iris took her cue. "Barry, how about you and I go to Ralph's office and look for some DNA for Caitlin, alright?"

Telling from her tone that she wouldn't take no for an answer, Barry rolled his eyes and huffed like a petulant child, and the two of them left Caitlin and Joe in the Cortex alone.

Caitlin's shoulders slumped. "I don't understand why he's being like this," she said to Joe. "What _happened_ between him and Ralph?"

Joe shook his head and blew out a breath of air. "I think that's something you should probably ask Barry," he said unhelpfully. "That's his story to tell."

 **Flash!**

Iris and Barry had been ambushed when they went back to get the DNA from Ralph's office. Iris came back and told Caitlin the whole story, ending with, "And that's what it feels like to vibrate through solid matter."

Caitlin whistled softly. "Remind me not to try it," she muttered, before sending a relieved glance in Barry's direction. "I'm just glad you two weren't hurt."

"No thanks to your little buddy in there," Barry said grumpily.

 _Not this again_. "He's not my buddy, he's my patient," Caitlin shot back, patience beginning to wear thin.

"Caitlin, I just don't understand why you're defending him-"

She spun around, her eyes blazing and the truth finally spilling out. "Because I know what it's like to suddenly find yourself with _extraordinary_ powers and be totally freaked out by it! And so do you, for that matter. You and I _both_ woke up in this lab once knowing our lives would never be the same. So how about you give the guy a little sympathy?"

Barry's head dropped, and Caitlin knew she had finally gotten him to listen to her side of the argument.

It was about then that Joe walked in, with the information that Ralph had been calling the Mayor... a _lot_. Like, 15 times in the past week, a lot. Barry gave her one of his frustrating "I told you so" looks, and they were back at square one.

Sure that she wouldn't be able to keep her cool through another argument with the man she loved, Caitlin took the DNA from Iris and started on making a cure for Ralph.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin's cure had worked, of course. She smiled at Ralph as she finished up his checkup. "You're vitals are fantastic," she reported.

Ralph smiled coyly at her, looking pleased. It was about then that Joe and Barry came in.

"Blackmailing the mayor?" Barry said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Classic Barry Allen; enters the room and accuses wildly," Ralph shot back.

"We know about the photos, Ralph. Bellows told us everything," Joe said, face drawn.

"Hey. I'm not the one who told him to step out on his wife," Ralph said with a shrug. Caitlin raised her eyebrows.

"That's your defense?!" Barry demanded. "It's _his_ fault that you're extorting him."

"Isn't that a little easy for you to say?" Ralph responded, un-velcro-ing the armband Caitlin had given him to check his blood pressure and all but throwing it at her. "Your fancy lab, your good job, and your hot girlfriend."

" _Fiancé_ ," Barry growled.

"People like me are just trying to get from one bill to the next," Ralph continued, ignoring Barry. "And I wouldn't have to be living like that, if _you hadn't cost me my job_!"

"You got yourself fired!" Barry shouted angrily. "You tampered with evidence! You _framed_ that guy."

So now the story was coming out. Caitlin's eyebrows rose higher.

" _Because he was guilty_!" Ralph roared. "And he was gonna get away with killing his wife and then _you_ let him go. I was a _good_ cop. I was a _good_ detective! I lost everything." His voice suddenly lowered in pitch, down to a low tone. "The mayor's got plenty of money. He can spare a little. Consider it the pension _you_ cost me."

Barry shook his head. "Good people don't destroy lives and call it noble," he said, his voice even. "You were dirty then. You're dirty now. Live with that."

Ralph's jaw tightened and he started to stride around Barry, towards the exit. Barry grabbed his upper arm. "You're not going anywhere."

"Get off me," Ralph growled, swinging around and trying to punch Barry in the face.

Barry ducked, popped back up, and punched Ralph in the nose.

Ralph's entire face bent and formed around Barry's fist, so for a second his hand was stuck inside the mass of skin. Caitlin winced, stomach turning in disgust.

Finally, Barry wrenched his hand out, looking furious. Ralph shook his head, returning it back to it's correct shape, and gave Barry a hurt look. "Thanks for ruining my life _twice_ , Allen."

 **Flash!**

Ralph decided that he was done blackmailing the Mayor, but instead of appreciating the offer, the Mayor shot him.

Of course, Bellows didn't know about Ralph's new stretchy ability. Ralph's face stretch back, the bullet not penetrating him at all, and he shot it out of one nostril into his hand.

"Bullet booger," Ralph winced. "Super gross."

Before Bellows could shoot again, the Flash arrived. Barry sped towards the Mayor and grabbed the gun out of his hand, moving Ralph at the same time.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the Mayor was behind the bomb in Ralph's office. Not only that, but he had sent two men to Barry's apartment and ambushed him and Joe. Barry had been able to save them with his speed, and stop the two henchmen, and now all that was left was to stop the Mayor, too.

"Mr. Mayor," Barry said, vibrating his voice and swinging the gun around one finger. "It's over."

It was about at that moment that a breach opened and Breacher (Gypsy's father) leaped out. He nailed Barry and Ralph with two breaches, one from either hand, and they tumbled backward.

"DIE, Plastiod!" Breacher bellowed. "Die! You will not infest this world as you did mine, Plastiod!"

He stalked toward Barry and Ralph, who were struggling to get up off the ground.

"Plastoid? What?" Ralph blinked in confusion. "Is he talking to me?"

"Breacher," Barry said calmly. "Stop-"

Breacher didn't listen, just blasted them with another vibe. "He dies!"

The Mayor took that opportunity to grab the gun and take off running towards the door. He ran into Joe, and shoved him in. "Get moving, Joe!"

"FLASH!" Joe yelled, getting Barry's attention as he was hustled off and gunpoint.

Concentration lost, Barry was easily knocked back by another vibe-blast. Ralph eyed Breacher nervously. "Look," he babbled. "You don't have to do this!"

" _Yes I do_ ," Breacher growled, and lifted his hands. Just as Ralph thought it was all over, Cisco appeared in front of him.

"Leave him alone," he commanded, in full Vibe regalia. "This guy didn't invade your planet- he didn't do anything wrong! He's like this 'cause of me and my Team. So if you've got a problem with him and his powers, then you deal with me."

Even though he was shaking with nerves, Cisco held his ground until, slowly, Breacher lowered his arms.

The sound of a helicopter made them all look up. Barry lurched to his feet, hurrying over to Cisco and staring upward. "The Mayor took Joe," he muttered, horror evident in his voice. "I can't run fast enough right now; I'll never have enough speed to just off. Can you breach me up there?"

Cisco shook his head. "No way. The event horizon would tear that helicopter apart."

"Okay," Barry breathed. Suddenly, he turned to Ralph. "You can get me up there."

Ralph blinked. "Me? _How_?"

"You can stretch, Ralph!" Barry cried, loosing patience.

"Are you crazy? I can't do that!" Ralph protested.

"Yes you can. Alright? I know that you have it inside of you to help someone other than yourself." Mentally, he thanked Caitlin for her argument; for trying to convince him there was a good inside of everyone. "I know you, Ralph."

Ralph squinted. "How could you _possibly_ know me?"

Sighing in resignation, Barry pulled off his cowl.

"Dude, are you _kidding_ me?" Ralph scoffed. "You're the Flash?! Everyone else gets struck by lightning and _dies_ , and _you_ get superpowers?! I like the Flash. Now I have to hate the Flash-"

"RALPH!" Barry interrupted, grabbing his shoulder. " _Focus_. I need you to do this. Joe needs you to do this, _please_. Show me I was wrong about you. You said you were a good cop? Be one. Right now."

Face darkening in consideration for a painful few seconds, Ralph finally turned around and flung his arm skyward.

It stretched, and stretched, and kept stretching until it had grasped onto the bottom off the helicopter. "Hold on, Ralph!" Barry encouraged, before pulling on his cowl and racing up Ralph's elongated arm.

He found himself in the helicopter, in firm possession of the Mayor's gun, seated next to Joe.

Joe turned to him, eyes wide.

"Cecil's pregnant."

 **Author's Note: Whoops, I didn't end it with Snowbarry :P But there was some stuffez with them, right? Yeah, there was. It was good. We good.**

 **It's gonna get more and more exciting as the season continues... :D :D :D**


	5. 4x05

**Author's Note: YAYAYAYAY this is one of the top 5 episode I'm most excited to write! The list goes as follows:**

 **5: 4x14**

 **4: 4x05**

 **3: 4x08**

 **2: 4x09**

 **1: 4x15**

Caitlin was scared.

No. No, Caitlin was _terrified_.

She had gotten back to her apartment the night before after celebrating Cecil's pregnancy with Iris, Joe and Barry, and found the front of her door mauled by scratches.

 _Come back soon_ , it read. _We miss you_.

It was clearly a message from Amunet and her team, whom Caitlin (or really, Killer Frost) had left immediately after they had gotten Barry out of the Speed Force. She should have known that really leaving would be impossible. Once a member, always a member.

She wasn't sure what to do. No one knew about Amunet, and she didn't want anyone to. She had done some bad things while working for him, just so that she could control Frost. Amunet _had_ helped her... but it had come at a price. Now she was trapped.

She could run. Frost knew a guy who could breach her to a whole other Earth, where Amunet could _never_ find her. But... she couldn't just leave, could she? She and Barry were getting married in just a couple of weeks. Caitlin couldn't do the same thing to him that he had done to her.

Still, Caitlin found herself on her computer, researching plane tickets. She bought one and stared at it for awhile, her body filled with dread.

"Well here you are!"

Caitlin spun around to find Felicity and Iris walking towards her. Caitlin hurriedly closed out of the airline tab and pasted on a smile.

"Are you ready for the Lady's Night to end all Lady's Night?" Felicity asked excitedly. She was holding a large gift bag, balloons floating above it.

Then Caitlin remembered. Tonight was the Bachelorette Party. Felicity had taken a two hour train and come all the way down to Central City to celebrate _Caitlin's_ wedding with her and Iris.

How the heck could she miss her own Bachelorette Party?!

"And by that she means a quiet, lowkey dinner at a classy restaurant," Iris corrected. "Caitlin reserved this thing, like, a week ago."

"Yah!" Felicity grinned. "That's what I mean. Super lowkey, _super_ quiet." She held up two puffy feather boas. "Do you want a pink, or a blue?"

"You know, guys... tonight... I'm just not really feeling up to it," Caitlin murmured, not meeting their eyes.

Both Iris and Felicity stared at her in confusion. Iris' brow furrowed in concern. "What's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, yeah!" Caitlin said quickly. "It's just... sometimes life catches up to you, you know?"

Felicity smiled in understanding. "It's because you're not wearing the tiara!" she cried, plopping a fluffy, sparkly tiara on Caitlin's head. "See? So much better with the tiara."

And though it wasn't the tiara, and more her amazing friends that she could _never ever_ leave, Caitlin sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll take the blue boa, _thank you_!"

 **Flash!**

At the Wests house, Barry, Cisco and Harry had all just arrived.

"Bachelor Party!" Cisco crowed, leading the way through the door and Joe greeted them with grins. "Ladies get out."

Cecil and Joanie, who were sitting together on the couch, stood up. "Well, that's our cue," Cecil said with a laugh, and the two of them headed toward the door.

"Hey, Barry, congrats on getting hitched," Joanie told Barry with a grin.

"Thank you! I didn't realize you were in town," Barry replied, walking into the living room to give her a hug hello.

"I just stopped by for the weekend," Joanie said.

Joe leaned down and gave Cecil a kiss. "Have a great time," he told her. "Don't get too crazy. No drinking."

Cecil shook her head. "No way. Caitlin promised me a totally chill night that even my pregnant old booty can handle." She turned to Joanie. "You should come with us, sweetie. I'm sure Caitlin wouldn't mind at all."

"Eh, no, that's okay." Joanie gave her a smile. "I actually have plans. But I will drop you off."

The two ladies left, and the men got settled. "Okay!" Cisco proclaimed, shutting off the lights and pulling a projector screen into the middle of the room. "Barry Allen. Are you ready to have your mind blown?"

Barry nodded eagerly, and Cisco started the video. It showed a picture of an adorable, tiny baby who was laughing and waving it's fists. "Meet Barry Allen before he met Caitlin Snow. Before he became an inter-dimensional time-traveling speedster, he was an adorable baby boy with Ewok level chub."

Barry grinned and Joe chuckled, nudging him in the shoulder. The video continued to show a Barry that was about five. Joe shook his head. "Oh, those cheeks."

"Cisco, this is great, but where did you get these videos?" Barry asked.

"I'm a ninja," Cisco said, which didn't explain anything but seemed legit. "Just wait until you see the footage I've gotten of you and Caitlin."

Barry's eyebrows went up. "How...?"

The younger years of Barry's life went by fairly quickly. There was footage of him and Iris and Joe, then, later, when he got his job at the CCPD.

Then came the first video of Caitlin.

"Cisco, how and why do you have this?!" Barry asked incredulously, staring at what looked like security camera footage of Barry and Caitlin's first meeting after Barry woke up from a coma.

"I told you," Cisco shrugged. "I'm a ninja. Also we keep all the footage in the STAR Labs database."

Barry smiled widely, excited to see nearly every moment he had shared with Caitlin in STAR Labs played out on screen for him to remember.

Then there was a knock at the door. "Gentlemen, I have arrived!" a voice called.

"Ralph," Cisco muttered.

"Dibny," Harry sighed.

"I wasn't.. expecting you..." Barry said awkwardly.

Ralph frowned. "You said see you later. I assumed this was a superhero hang out and this was a test for my highly attuned detective capabilities. Which, for the record, nailed it!"

"Or..." Harry started.

"You weren't invited," Cisco muttered.

"Wow... this house is..." Ralph started.

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Bitchin'?" he suggested, quoting the phrase that Barry's symbols language had translated to back when he had just come out of the Speed Force.

"No. Small. It looks a lot bigger from the street. What's all this crap?"

Barry glanced at the screen, which now was playing footage of him and Caitlin and Cisco all laughing together at something someone (most likely Cisco) had said. "This is my Bachelor Party," he told Ralph, resisting the urge to say ' _and you're ruining it.'_

"Oh dear God you're serious," Ralph cringed. "This lameo-fest is your Bachelor Party?"

"This 'Lameo-Fest' is about to indulge in some very fine cigars," Cisco snapped. "And a very nice steak dinner at the Oak."

"Okay. Stop," Ralph shook his head, looking disgusted. "You're gonna pay 50 dollars for some lame steak dinner? I know a place where they have all you can eat steak _and_ chicken for 4.99 and they even throw in napkins."

Barry frowned, confused by this. Where, exactly, did you have to pay for napkins?

"Come on, ladies," Ralph invited.

"No, really, Ralph," Barry said, shaking his head, wanting to stay and watch the rest of the adorable video Cisco had put together. "We're gonna stay here and were going to-"

"Slim Jim!" Ralph interrupted. "I insist!"

And that was the end of arguing.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin, Cecile, Iris and Felicity all sat together around the square, wood table at the restaurant that Caitlin had picked out for her Bachelorette Party.

A waiter came by and filled their glasses with champagne. "Ooh, so fancy," Cecile commented as all the girls clinked their glasses together.

Caitlin tried to smile and _not_ to look at her watch.

"A toast!" Felicity proclaimed. "To the future Mrs. Allen!"

"Snow-Allen," Caitlin corrected. "I've gone by Dr. Snow so long that I don't think I could change."

Felicity smiled. "Your life with Barry may be fast paced, but I hope you guys still take the time to enjoy the special moments."

Caitlin smiled back at her, relaxing just a little bit. "Thank you guys for coming. It really means a lot."

"Cheers!" Cecile agreed, and they clinked glasses again.

Iris, Felicity and Caitlin all tipped back their champaign, but Cecile set hers on the table. "Alright," she sighed. "Well, who wants my champaign? Craziest thing I'm gonna do tonight is order two desserts."

Felicity raised her eyebrow at Caitlin, who had not only drained the entirety of her first drink in a single gulp, but was reaching for Cecile's. "I'll take it," she offered, already bringing it up to her mouth. Hopefully getting just a little bit tipsy would make her relax enough to forget about Amunet and her rapidly disappearing chance of escape, at least for tonight.

"Yeah, Iris told me you're pregnant!" Felicity beamed. "How's that going?"

"It's good!" Cecile replied happily. "It wasn't exactly part of my plan, but I just could not be happier."

Felicity smiled. "I know exactly what you mean."

Iris raised her eyebrows, intrigued. "Oh yeah, how is everything with Oliver going?"

That was about the point that Caitlin stopped listening, because across the restaurant she could see none other than Norvock, Amunet's number 1 crony, walking towards their table.

Her breath stuttered and her heart froze. Not tonight. Any night but tonight.

Norvock reached the table and stood, staring at them. Felicity looked up and raised her eyebrows. Caitlin couldn't breathe.

"Did you order a striper?" Iris asked, waggling her eyebrows at Caitlin and looking a little impressed.

"No!" Cecile protested, laughing a little.

Her laughter, and Felicity's babbling, abruptly died off as Norvock leaned forward and glared Caitlin down. "Amunet wants you," he said in a low voice.

Caitlin opened her mouth, but no words came out. Iris gave her a _look_. "Uh, Caitlin? Do you know him?"

"You need to come with me," Norvock continued.

"We're not going anywhere with you," Caitlin disagreed, resisting the urge to grab Iris or Felicity's glasses of liquor to give her some liquid courage.

Cecile leaned forward. "Please tell me this is just another part of his act," she muttered.

"If it is," Felicity murmured back. "It's taking too long. Take it off!" she called up to Norvock, snapping her fingers.

Instead of stripping, Norvock leaned forward and his eye - _his actually eye_ \- plopped into Felicity's champaign glass. Felicity squeaked with disgust. "Gross! I meant take off your pants, not your eye!"

Without warning, a pinkish-red serpent began to grow out of Norvock's eye. All the girls, besides Caitlin, screamed and shoved back their chairs, trying to get away from the disgusting sight.

Finally getting ahold of herself, Caitlin jerked to her feet and heaved the entire table over. Plates and glasses slid off of it and shattered, and Cecile, Felicity and Iris all leapt up and crowded behind it. Norvock stumbled back. Behind him, everyone else in the restaurant was streaming towards the exit, leaving the girls alone.

"Stand back," Felicity said. "I got this." She raced toward Norvock, picked up a chair, and slammed it into his back.

He stumbled and turned angrily around, but Iris was there was the serving trey that had brought their glasses of champaign. She smashed it across his face one way and then the other, but Norvock's eye soon shot out and shoved her backward.

Iris fell into Felicity, and both of them crashed to the floor, Cecile crouched behind them.

"Please don't do this," Caitlin begged, her hands trembling.

Norvock turn toward her. "It didn't have to be this way," he growled.

Caitlin turned meta.

Under the amazed eyes of her friends, her eyes and lips turned blue, frost shot from her fingertips, and her hair became white. Norvock smirked. "I was hoping to see you again," he breathed.

Killer Frost stepped forward, throwing the boa off of her shoulders and stepping forward. "Really? So I could give you another scar?"

Norvock lunged, but Frost was faster. With one carefully aimed blast, Norvock was thrown backward by a stream of frost. He smashed through the window and disappeared, leaving the restaurant in a shocked silence.

Frost sighed in satisfaction and then looked down at herself. She winced. " _Ugh_ , I _hate_ pink."

Then she picked up the champaign and took a large gulp, straight from the bottle. It was good to be back.

 **Flash!**

After they got back from the restaurant, Iris got the bright idea of calling the boys.

"They're not picking up," she reported anxiously as Frost led the way into the Cortex.

"What the heck just happened?!" Cecile demanded, still shaken up by the encounter in the restaurant. "Who was that.. Medusa man?"

"Don't worry about who that was," Frost replied, deflecting the question. She glanced down at her clothes and grimaced again. "Caitlin's taste in clothes is matched only in her taste in men. Both terrible."

"Wait, how are you _you_?" Iris asked, confused. "I thought Caitlin was cured. Also... didn't you know that Caitlin is _getting married_ to one of those "terrible" men in just a few weeks?"

Frost rolled her eyes, pulling a neatly packed suitcase from underneath a table and opening it. "Caitlin shouldn't be keeping secrets from her friend." Frost paused. "You are friends, right?"

She ignored the comment about Barry, choosing instead to raise her eyebrows and stare Iris down as the ex-reporter hurriedly replied, "Yeah, of course we are."

"Your _friend_ was going out of town tonight."

"What? Why?"

"Because. She got herself into something she couldn't handle." Frost continued to root through the suitcase, searching through Caitlin's clothes for something she liked.

"Where are you going?" Cecile asked, frowning in confusion as Frost picked out an outfit and unclasped the pink blouse she was wearing.

"To find Norvock's boss," Frost told her. "And to kill her."

Felicity frowned. "And you need a change of clothes of that because... WHOA!"

Frost had abruptly yanked her pink blouse over her head. All three girls spun around to give her some form of privacy. "Oookay," Felicity huffed. "Apparently somebody doesn't have any form of boundary issues."

Iris led the girls outside, wishing to talk to them, and Frost rolled her eyes. She pulled out a pair of black leggings and a blue jacket, an outfit that looked and felt... well... cool.

Smirking at her mental pun, Frost fluffed up her hair, straightened her clothes, and strode into the Cortex. "What're you all talking about?"

All three ladies spun around. Felicity's eyes went wide. "Ooh, nothing, just talking about how cool it is to kill people, and such. No pun intended."

Frost didn't crack a smile. This small blond was extremely irritating, _and_ she had just unintentionally copied her pun. "It's been real, ladies," she said, and strode out of the room.

 **Flash!**

After Iris saved Frost from a possible full-on-battle with Amunet, the girls hurried back to STAR Labs to regroup.

"How _exactly_ do you know Amunet?" Iris asked, once Frost has explained who she was.

"Caitlin," Frost responded simply, before deciding it was worth elaborating on. "Six months ago, Caitlin thought she had everything under control. Then she felt me becoming much stronger. She found out that Amunet had some tech that would let her stay in charge. She got desperate, so she decided to use it. But it came with a price tag."

"Which was...?" Felicity prompted.

"Being her muscle."

Cecile looked at her, horrified. "Did you kill anyone?"

She had been waiting for that question. Smirking, Frost glanced over her shoulder. "Some people lost their fingers and their toes, but... no. No one died."

"How are you here now?" Iris asked, getting back to the point.

"While Caitlin sleeps, I am awake."

"Oh my gosh, you're like the Incredible Hulk!" Felicity gushed. "That's-" She broke off as Frost turned around, raising her eyebrow. "I said that with too much exuberance. Don't mind me."

Iris shook her head. "Look. What are Amunet's plans for the Weeper?"

"Not my problem," Frost shrugged.

Iris bit back a groan. "Look, he was on that bus! We helped create him- we need to save him!"

"No," Frost argued. "I need to leave and escape Amunet."

"So you're just gonna leave?" Cecile asked incredulously.

Frost sighed. It was truly impossible to get anywhere with these women. "Listen. There's a reason the CCPD has not caught her, and that you idiots just realized that there's a major crime lord living under your noses for the past three years. She's too powerful. We can't stop her."

 **Flash!**

Iris found Caitlin packing up a few supplies in the medical lab. "Where are you going?" she asked, coming slowly into the room.

"I know a guy who can breach me to another Earth. I can start over. Be who I wanna be."

"And that's... _Killer_ Frost," Iris confirmed. "Right?"

"Don't be cute, West," Frost glared. "You can't stop me."

"I wasn't planning on it," Iris shrugged. "Look, I know you could kill me, just like I know you could have killed Amunet tonight or Barry last year."

Frost's hands went still. Iris raised her eyebrow. Interesting.

"But you didn't," she continued. "There's a part of you that is good and decent, and you just don't know how to accept it."

Frost spun around. "You think you know me now?"

"No!" Iris said quickly. "But I do know what Caitlin looks like when she's scared, and you have that very look in your eyes right now. You're just as afraid of being Caitlin as Caitlin is of being Killer Frost. I know you won't leave, Frost. Because deep down, even if it's only Caitlin who knows it, there is a life here for you. People here that love you. A man who's going to marry you in just a few weeks. You don't want to lose all that."

Frost shook her head, grabbed the rest of her things, and left the room.

She contacted the breacher while she walked, telling him she would meet him under a bridge in the dirtier part of Central City. A good ten minutes after she had suggested they meet, she heard footsteps.

"You're late," Frost said, turning around. She froze when she saw, not the breacher, but Amunet Black standing in front of her.

"I'm right on time," Amunet countered, dropping two buckets at her feet. They were filled, Frost knew, with the special metal her powers used to do her bidding. It was scary and dangerous and kind of cool all at once.

"Were you expecting a different meta?" Amunet asked tauntingly. "No one walks away from me, Frost."

The metal in her bucket started to rattle, before flying up and encasing her hand. She shoved out her fist and a bullet shot out of it.

It caught Frost in the shoulder before she could defend herself, and she tumbled over and over on the pavement. Getting to her feet as fast as she could, Frost sent icicle after icicle at Amunet.

She blocked them all easily, and retaliated with three more metal shards. They sliced into Frost's arm and she hit the pavement again, crying out in pain.

"Did you _really_ think I was going to let you just breach into the sunset?!" Amunet demanded, stalking toward her. "You owe me your life."

She grabbed the front of Frost's blue jacket and punched her across the face, once, twice, three, _four_ times.

The white of Frost's hair faded. Her skin turned pink, blood gathering on her eyebrow and lip.

Once again Caitlin, she collapsed onto the pavement, unconscious.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin woke up alone.

She lay in the bed Iris and Felicity had dragged her to from under the bridge for awhile, staring at the ceiling.

She wanted Barry so badly it hurt. She wanted him more than she probably ever had. Instead of him, however, she was greeted with a trey of needles and antibacterial bottles, and she set to work fixing herself up.

Iris walked into the room as she was just finished up with the long row of stitches on her arm.

"Let me help you," Iris pleaded. Caitlin just looked at her for a moment before going back to her work. " _Please_."

"Fine," Caitlin sighed, handing Iris the scissors. "It's already knotted, you just have to pull it tight."

Her voice was low, emotionless, broken, even. Iris gave her a worried glance before kneeling down and finished up the job Caitlin had started. Caitlin looked up at her, eyes large and brown. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"When she's in control, I don't remember much of what happens." Caitlin's head dropped, looking at her hands. "I remember things that make me fight to get out, like the time that she and Barry were fighting and he told her he loved her. Or when Savitar was about to kill him. I remember those moments. Did she... _I_... hurt anyone?"

"Just that snake-eyed scumbag," Iris assured her with a small smile. "Didn't kill him though. So the cure, it..."

"Didn't work," Caitlin finished. "Not all the way."

"Which is why you wanted to leave tonight? And why it took you six months to come back?"

Caitlin sighed. "When Cisco said he was going to get Barry back from the Speed Force I thought... maybe I could come back. Make up for some of the pain I had caused. But... she's getting stronger. I never should have come back."

Her head dropped again, long brown hair swinging over one shoulder. "That's not true, Caitlin," Iris murmured. "You can always come back to your friends. Why didn't you tell any of us? Tell _Barry_?"

Caitlin shrugged. "When he came out of the Speed Force, he was just so light. So _happy_. I guess I just.. didn't want to burden him. And I didn't know who else to talk to."

"You could have talked to me!" Iris protested. "I'm your friend, Caitlin."

"Work friend," Caitlin corrected. "I mean... it's not like you and I have become besties over the last few years."

Iris looked down, put in her place. "Yeah, I guess we haven't," she breathed.

There was a long silence as both of the girls simply looked at their hands. Then Caitlin glanced up. "Have you... is there any way you could... Has Barry called? Is he hear?"

"Honey, if he was here, he would be _here_ ," Iris said with a wry smile. "I... haven't been able to get in touch with any of the guys; don't know why. I'm hoping everything's okay."

Caitlin nodded. Just another thing to worry about, she supposed.

 **Flash!**

Iris had made the dumb move of trying to capture Amunet with just her and Cecile and Felicity. Now she and Felicity (thankfully Cecile was safe) were being held at gunpoint by Amunet's men.

That wasn't going to work. Caitlin knew that. She also knew that hanging back, just because she was afraid of what might happen if she changed into Killer Frost again, was a cowards move.

And neither Frost _nor_ Caitlin was a coward.

"Hey Amunet!" she called, stepping forward, toward the half-circle of cronies with guns and the big boss herself. "This is between you, and me. Let my friends go, and I'll come back and work for you."

Amunet shook her head. "It's too late for that, Caity," she said, tutting softly. "Do you know why no one has ever testified against me over the years? Hmm? Well, it's because they're not alive to. Sorry."

Not looking terribly apologetic, Amunet spun around and walked back to her henchmen. "Take care of them," she ordered.

The men raised their guns.

Realizing that they were either going to die or she was going stop being afraid, Caitlin opened her mouth and screamed. Ice shot from her lips and hit the men, throwing them backwards. A frosty smoke filled the air, and when it cleared, Killer Frost was back.

"Well hello, chilly," Amunet murmured. Felicity and Iris ran to stand behind her, and Frost raised her arms. Amunet reached down and her hand was once again covered by her metal gauntlet. "And here I thought I wasn't going to be able to kill anyone today," she muttered, preparing herself for the fight.

She sent a dozen shards of ice toward the three women, but Frost acted first. She created a large dome off ice around them, keeping them safe, at least for the time being.

"KILL THEM!" Amunet bellowed, filled with rage. Her men stepped forward and began rapid-firing bullets toward the icy dome.

"I don't think this is gonna hold much longer," Frost admitted.

"Okay, think," Iris muttered. "This is a steel factory, and you move steel plates with-"

"Magnets," Felicity finished. "Really, _really_ big magnets."

"Cecile, turn the crane on!" Iris commanded.

"What?" Cecile asked through Iris and Felicity's coms. "How?"

"It should be in the synapsis, just highlight it and turn it on!" Felicity instructed.

As Cecile got to work, Frost took a deep breath and smashed her own ice structure into pieces. The henchmen were blown back to the ground and Amunet stared at them in fury, breathing heavily.

"You and I could have been _gods_ ," she hissed, stalking forward.

Frost shrugged. "I used to work with a god," she deadpanned. "Over it."

Amunet raised her metal-encrusted hand, and Iris yelled: "Cecile, now!"

There was a whirring sound, before all of the small metal pieces on Amunet's fist wizzed off and stuck to the magnet. She stared at it in shock, and then back down at her now powerless hand.

A dagger formed in Frost's hand. She grinned widely, ready to get the revenge she deserved. Amunet had tried to hurt her -well, Caitlin's- friends, and that wasn't going to be forgiven easily. "Not so scary without your bling, now are you?" she asked, walking slowly forward as Amunet continued to try and tug her metal back to her.

Frost raised her arm, and was about to strike when Iris yelled, "STOP!"

Frost hesitated.

"Caitlin, stop," Iris continued.

"I'm not Caitlin," Frost shot back. "And I'll never be free unless she dies."

"No! It's the opposite. You are free _right now_. But if you do this you will always be a killer. Killer Frost, Caitlin... you don't have to be one or the other. You get to decide who you are."

Frost's arm dropped. The icicle shattered on the ground and she sent Amunet a glare. "Get out of here."

She didn't need to be told twice.

 **Flash!**

After freeing the Weeper, who didn't want to be saved and ran away as soon as his chains were cut, and calling the police, the girls all trooped back to STAR Labs.

They were exhausted. It was around 3 in the morning, and none of them had slept all night.

Iris met the boys in the corridor while Frost prepared herself. She had agreed, with a bit of prompting from Iris, to give the entirety of the Team an explanation of what had happened over the past six months. She was nervous. She had no idea what Barry or Cisco would say- not that she cared about their opinions, of course. It was just that Caitlin did, and she was starting to rub off on her.

Cisco was talking as Iris led him, Barry and Ralph into the Cortex. "I'm pretty sure nothing could make tonight any worse," he said, but his voice abruptly died off as he saw Killer Frost standing in the middle of the room. He let out a long sigh. "I'm so tired. I'm _so_ tired; can we please do this tomorrow?"

Ralph, Barry and Iris filed into the room beside him. Barry's eyes went wide when he saw Frost. Ralph's jaw dropped a little. "Ohhh... chicks with white hair: _hot_."

"Why is Killer Frost here?" Barry asked, his voice confused but gentle. Frost noticed that his hair looked a mess and he had stains on his white shirt. She wondered exactly what had happened during the Bachelor Party that could have led to such a disheveled appearance.

"Guys..." Iris spoke up. Frost nodded at her and she nodded back. "She has something that she... needs to tell you. And you all should listen."

Slowly, the icy exterior of Killer Frost faded away and Caitlin was left standing in the Cortex. Barry's stomach plunged. There was blood clotted on her left eyebrow, and her bottom lip and cheekbone were bruised and puffy. Her eyes were large, a little scared, and red-rimmed, and there was no way of knowing what other injuries lay under her blue-and-black outfit.

"Aw..." Ralph sighed, disappointed. "It's just _Caitlin_."

Barry sent him a glare so dark it actually shut him up.

"I can explain everything," Caitlin started. She started at the beginning, six months back, when she had become fed up with her white hair and her "new self" and had taken the cure. She told them about less than a month later, when the cure had worn off and she started getting scared.

She told them about hearing about Amunet, about signing the deal with her, about the things she had done... and the things she hadn't. And finally she ended with what had happened tonight, Iris chipping in when needed.

By the time she finished her story, all of them had taken seats over the numerous chairs in the Cortex. Caitlin kept her voice deliberate and steady, eyes fixed on a spot on the floor just in front of her feet.

"If it hadn't been for Caitlin and Frost tonight, we'd be dead," Iris finished, resting her hand on Caitlin's shoulder. "She was stronger tonight than I've ever seen anyone be."

Caitlin started to cry.

Looking concerned, Iris quickly wrapped an arm around her, but Barry was already on his feet. He crouched down in front of Caitlin and cupped her face in his hands, wiping away her tears. "I am so proud of you," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you tonight."

Caitlin began to cry even harder, and Barry stood up, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. She clung to him gratefully, hands gripping the back of his sweatshirt and face pressed into the crook of his neck. She wished that they were alone. She wished that the world didn't have to watch as six months of tears came streaming down her face.

She cried the tears she hadn't when Barry went into the Speed Force. The ones she hadn't when the cure had stopped working. The ones she hadn't when she started working with Amunet. The ones she hadn't when she heard tale of a terrifying Ice-Demon patrolling the streets. The ones she hadn't, especially, tonight.

Barry held her.

After a good five minutes, it seemed as though Caitlin was starting to calm down. Barry glanced at the rest of the group. Cisco was standing awkwardly, his hands in his pockets. Iris was watching Caitlin in concern.

Ralph was asleep.

"I think that she... all of us, really, have had a pretty long day and night," Barry said softly, running his hand down Caitlin's hair. "What do you say we all go home and take the day off tomorrow?"

"I think that that sounds like a _great_ idea," Cisco muttered, and promptly opened a breach and hopped through.

Iris stood up slowly, yawning. "I'm going to go find Felicity," she told Barry. "She's staying with me tonight. Good night."

Caitlin sniffled and pulled her face away from Barry's shirt. It was tearstained and blotchy, but she managed to scrounge up a smile to give to Iris. "Thank you for everything. And with everything that happened tonight... it'll be really nice to have you standing beside me as my Maid of Honor."

Iris nodded, giving her and Barry a hug. "I'll see you guys... in two days, then," she said with a smile, picking up her purse and her coat and starting towards her car.

"Hey," Barry whispered, brushing Caitlin's hair out of her face.

She blinked tiredly up at him, and he smiled gently. "Should we head home?"

"Yes," Caitlin breathed. Barry wrapped his arm around her and picked her up. "How was your evening?"

Barry grimaced. "There was... a lot of crying. Puking. More crying. More puking."

"Oh, honey," Caitlin murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright; it sounds like your night kinda sucked, too," Barry said with a shrug. "We can bemoan about it to our kids together in, like, twelve years."

Caitlin let out a half-laugh-half-sob, but it was the first time she had smiled without feeling like she had to to keep up appearances.

Together, they went home.

 **Author's Note: AHHHHHH THAT CHAPTER ONE IT WAS LONG AND TWO I JUST LOVE CAITLIN!**


	6. 4x06

**Author's Note: I'm am seriously half-writing this story off of episode recaps. For whatever reason, I can't seem to remember what happens in them without looking it up XD At least there are no end to clips that I can use- that's been great.**

"You will not _believe_ what happened this morning." Barry had stormed into the Cortex in a huff, stopped his anger momentarily to give Caitlin a long kiss good morning and pass her her favorite coffee (which gained him another long kiss), and then slumped into a chair and pouted.

"What happened this morning?" Caitlin asked calmly, blowing on her coffee before taking a sip. _Ahhh_ the bliss.

"So Ralph and I had gotten coffee _-which I bought for him for the fifth time in a row, just by the way_ \- and we were just simply walking down the street when a guy decides to mug us. So I thought, great! Perfect teaching moment. We told the guy to kindly give us a minute and Ralph started coming up with these _outrageous_ ideas, like turning into a human slingshot or a slinky."

"Ahh," Caitlin murmured.

"Yeah," Barry rolled his eyes dramatically, reminding Caitlin of a high school girl. She hid her face behind her coffee cup, trying hard not to laugh. "So then the mugger goes and shoots Ralph! And of course he's super-stretchy-guy now, so the bullet stretched into him and ending up hitting the mugger."

"Interesting," Caitlin said.

"But get this: Ralph wanted to just leave the guy there screaming in pain! I, of course, tried to tell him that that's not what people like us do, and while we were talking the mugger shot him _again_! Of course the same thing happened, and the bullet kind of hit him in the butt."

"Ahh," Caitlin said again. "You had an exciting morning."

"That's not even all of it!" Barry proclaimed. "Ralph _still_ wanted to leave him! He thinks being a hero is all about getting the bad guy, even though that's not it at all. It's about _protecting_ people, which he thinks is stupid. Figures." Barry rolled his eyes again. "So _I_ had to take him to the hospital and make sure he didn't bleed out on the pavement. And Ralph didn't even say thank you!"

Caitlin nodded slowly, taking another sip off her coffee. Barry sighed, and slumped down in his chair. "Alright, so I suppose it could have been worse. But training him is just so hard, you know? He never _listens_ to me, and that's kind of an important part of being a student."

"A student, huh?" Caitlin tilted her head, considering him. "Are you sure you're not just taking this "teacher" job a little too seriously? Maybe because he used to be your superior?"

"I dunno," Barry shrugged. "Maybe I feel just a _little_ bit guilty with everything that happened with Wally. I mean, I was his teacher but I didn't do a very good job of being more than that."

"Barry..." Caitlin got up and crossed the room, reluctantly leaving her precious coffee on her desk. "What happened with Wally wasn't on you, you know that, right? You were gone for six months, for goodness sakes! Any under-appreciation he was feeling wasn't your fault."

"I guess so," Barry sighed. "And he's good now, right? He's doing his thing."

"Exactly." Caitlin leaned down and kissed his forehead. "But, if what happened with Wally pushes you to be a better teacher _and_ friend to Ralph, I'd say let it."

"Alright," Barry hopped to his feet, smiling again. "Thanks Cait- good talk. I gotta head to work."

"Okay, honey. Have a good morning. Love you."

"Love you too!"

Shaking her head, Caitlin turned back to her coffee.

 **Flash!**

That evening, Harry, Cisco and Caitlin got down to business. They spent the _entire_ night looking for DeVoe. Eventually even Barry gave up trying to get them to go home, but the next morning he was extremely sympathetic. Caitlin was hugging her coffee mug, staring off into space. Cisco was half-asleep in his chair.

Harry was still searching incessantly for DeVoe.

"Ouch," Barry winced. "All-nighter, huh?"

"I haven't been this tired since Killer Frost decided to go to Burning Man," Caitlin groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?" Barry raised his eyebrows, looking forward to hearing that particular story at a different time. "Well, how is our search for the mysterious DeVoe coming?"

"Allen," Harry snapped. "We're searching for an evil mastermind and the only clue we have to go on is his name but there's literally thousands, so how's the search going?!" He picked up something from the desk and chucked it at Barry, who ducked. Cisco lazily followed the object with his eyes, before looking back at Harry, who finished with a harsh: " _Fantastic_."

Cisco giggled deliriously. "I missed that."

"If we're gonna find DeVoe," Harry continued, ignoring Cisco. "We're gonna need more brainpower."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Ralph Dibny strode into the Cortex. "One master detective, ready to detect." He picked up Harry's coffee mug, but the genius grabbed it back from him.

"I said _more_ brain power."

Ralph rolled his eyes and put his hand down on the keyboard. Almost immediately, a robotic voice started to speak. " _Initiating emergency oxygen purge_."

"Remind me why we even have that?" Caitlin asked Cisco blearily as Ralph began to freak out and try to turn the countdown off.

Cisco shrugged, smirking as Harry pushed him out of the way and calmly stopped the imminent oxygen purge with one press of a button. "Like I said. We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends."

Cisco's head lifted, and Barry frowned. "Your what?"

"My friends," Harry repeated.

Confused, Barry spun around and exchanged glances with Cisco and Caitlin. "Did he say friends?"

"I think he's being sarcastic," Caitlin told him.

"No, this is delirium," Cisco countered, looking alarmed. "He's cracked from being awake all night. Hey Harry. All your friend are in this room!"

Caitlin waved.

"I have other friends!" Harry protested. "You asked me to make new friends, I made new friends. It was a task. I complete tasks."

Caitlin beamed. "That's so great!" she said happily. "I can't wait to meet them."

Cisco wheezed out another giggle. "Harry you listened to meeee... I'm so proud of you!"

"There's no pride-" Harry started. Cisco and Caitlin exchanged touched glances, and Caitlin put her hand over her heart. This was too _cute_! "My friends are smart," Harry continued. "They'll help us; I'll call them."

He gave Ralph a look and backed out of the room.

"Alright," Barry said, grinning a little and shaking his head. "Well, in the meantime we gotta find the rest of these bus metas. Somehow they're connected to DeVoe's plan." His gaze turned to Ralph. "You were on the bus. Can you remember anybody else who was?"

"Weeell..." Ralph frowned in consideration. "I was in between drunk and hungover at the time." His gaze landed on Lady Luck and he lost track of his thoughts. "She is cute! What's her deal?"

"She's in jail," Caitlin told him.

Ralph grinned, undaunted. "What are her visiting hours?"

Barry sent Caitlin a look over his shoulder that clearly said, ' _See? This is what I was talking about yesterday_.'

She shrugged and shook her head and Barry turned to Cisco. "What about vibing the rest of the bus metas?" he suggested.

"I- I tried," Cisco stuttered, rearranging himself in his chair. "But, you know, the Dark Matter we released was such a massive Space-Time event that my energy just reflected back and I ended up biting myself." He snorted, his exhaustion making him even goofier than usual. "I'm pretty sure I relived my own birth. Or was it my death?"

"You know," Caitlin said, quickly inserting herself before things could get off topic. "There are non-traumatizing ways of bringing Ralph's memory back. Like hypnosis."

"Is that really a thing?" Barry asked skeptically.

"I mean, not like the whole cartoon, pocket watch version, but yeah. Real hypnosis can be used to recover memories."

"Alright," Barry shrugged. "Do you know any hypnotists?"

There were murmurs of "no" and "not me" from different areas in the room. "Alright," Cisco mumbled. "Who's gonna hypnotize Ralph?"

 **Flash!**

Iris and Cisco, surprisingly, were the ones who figured out who could hypnotize Ralph.

Apparently, after they had started having problems they had decided to try couples counseling and see if they could work things out. That obviously hadn't worked very well, but they convinced the rest of the team that Dr. Sharon was the perfect person to hypnotize Ralph. And, shockingly, she did.

They didn't discover much though. Ralph only remembered the symbol of a bison on some woman's shirt, and a man who was in the seat in front of him, crying. He did, however, remember that there were at least two women on the bus (the bison woman being one of them), though whether one of them was Lady Luck there was no way to be sure.

Barry and Joe were called into a crime-scene early the next morning. It turned out that the biggest suspect for the case was a giant stone wildcat, which Barry brought Caitlin a sample of to study.

"So, this stone sample shows absolutely no unique attributes of any kind," she told the Team, finishing up her research and walking into the Cortex to talk with them. "It's a totally normal granite statue. Except! It's filled with traces of Dark Matter on a molecular level. It's as if it's been flooded with it."

"So, another bus meta," Iris sighed.

"One that somehow brings inanimate objects to life and uses them to kill." Barry pulled a face. "How can this possibly be... possible?"

"My best guess," Caitlin offered. "is that this meta has the ability to leave a psychic imprint on objects; a sort of telekinetic puppeteering through a subconscious link."

"That's _really_ smart," Ralph said, then suddenly rattled off: "34, 25, 34."

Caitlin stared at him in shock. Ralph had just accurately guess the measurements of the more... curvy parts of her, so to speak. She blinked at Barry. "Did he just give my...?"

Barry, however, was glaring Ralph down. "You watch where your eyes are going," he growled threateningly. "Or you might not even _have_ eyes to see that kind of stuff."

Caitlin shifted uncomfortably and Barry took her hand. "Too much?" he whispered down to her, looking a bit chagrined.

"It was very sweet of you," Caitlin murmured back, shaking her head fondly.

"Well," Iris said, trying to steer the conversation away from possibly dangerous topics. "The good thing is our rifles have a blow-statue setting. So when this meta _does_ show up... we'll be ready."

"I hope we're ready now," Joe commented, striding into the room. "The victim's name is Jim Fox. He was an auctioneer at Weatherbys. He was transporting a Native American artifact when he was attacked. We just don't know which one."

"Wait, maybe we do," Iris said slowly. She clicked on one of the pictures and it got bigger on the screen. "Bison necklace. Ralph, you said you saw a bison on the bus, right? I mean, nothing in our world is a coincidence."

Ralph smirked, pleased. "Vindicated," he muttered to Barry.

"No one said you were lying!" Barry protested.

"I could see it in your eyes."

"According to this auction report, the necklace was separated into three pieces. The first was in the briefcase, the second unknown, but the third is in the hands of a private collector," Caitlin read.

"Christoph Banks," Barry finished.

Joe nodded. "I'll go to CCPD, get his address. He might be in danger."

"And we better pay him a visit," Barry said to Ralph. "You ready to suit up?"

"Oh yeah!" Ralph said, and started to leave the room. Then he paused. "Uh.. where's my suit?"

 **Flash!**

The fight had not gone well, and Barry was annoyed beyond belief. Ralph, if possible, was even _more_ annoyed.

"How could you let her get away?!" he groaned to Barry as they flashed into STAR Labs, defeated.

"Maybe because I was saving someone's _life_?!" Barry snapped back, handing Caitlin a metal helmet that seemed to have come from a suit of armor. "Could you take a look at this."

"Of course," she said, carrying it into her lab.

It didn't take too long to come back with results. "I'm getting the same traces of Dark Matter from this that was in the tiger statue."

"Looks like our meta isn't restricted to animating just stone," Iris said, lips pursing.

"No, but she does have some limitations," Barry added. "Out of all the artifacts in the office, she could only control the knight."

Caitlin considered for a moment. "So then maybe her psychic imprint abilities are just restricted to effigies?"

Ralph snorted with laughter and Barry turned around to glare at him. "It just means statues."

"Yeeeah, I don't know," Ralph shrugged. "It sounds kind dirty to me."

Iris and Caitlin shook their head in disgust, and Joe changed the subject. "So statues that look like people. Or animals. She can bring them to life." Barry nodded and Joe sighed. "There's only _thousands_ of those in this city."

Something on Iris' computer beeped and she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I got a hit on facial recognition." A picture of a young woman, the same that Barry and Ralph had seen when they went to talk to Christoph Banks, popped onto the big screen.

"Mina Chaytan, Professor of Cultural Anthropology," Barry read. "She's a teacher?"

"Was," Iris corrected. "She became an activist and she lost her job six months ago after being arrested."

"Breaking and entering, trespassing, burglary," Caitlin read off. "Quite an activist. The charges were dropped but the University still let her go."

"She was trying to reclaim several suit art pieces from the museum," Joe continued, reading over Caitlin's shoulder. "Chaytan was at this even before she was a madwoman."

"Yeah, except now she's upped her game to homicide," Barry murmured. "She wants the third piece of that necklace? Then let's find it before she does."

"Okay," Iris said as Joe started to head out of the room. "West and West are on the case." They slapped fives and walked out.

 **Flash!**

"We've got the third piece of the necklace," Iris reported as she strode into the room, Barry and Ralph close behind her. "My dad figured out that it was on display at Central City Museum, but when they figured out it was a target it got moved. It's be transferred via armored car to a secure storage facility in Brookfield Heights. I logged onto the truck's GPS."

"Alright," Barry nodded. "Ralph? Let's go."

They arrived at the scene to see the driver of the van unconscious in the road, and a giant statue of a viking or some other guy with long hair and fur clothing standing motionless in front of the truck.

Mina was holding a small white box protectively in one hand. Barry gave her a look. "Hello," he greeted. "Ready to go to jail?"

"This doesn't belong in an auction house," Mina said firmly, placing her hand over the box. "It doesn't belong in someone's collection. It belongs to the Sioux people. My people."

"Mina," Barry said, stepping forward. "I know you've been through a lot, but this is not the way to do it."

"I don't need to listen to men like you anymore, Flash," Mina interrupted. "A few weeks ago, something inside me changed. It changed for the better. For the more powerful. And now there's just the Black Bison."

Behind Barry, the Viking man's head tilted upward. He grabbed Barry's shoulder and shoved him onto the pavement.

As Barry began to fight him, Mina ran for her car. "Oh no you don't," Ralph muttered, racing for her. He managed to stretch one arm and catch the bottom of her car, pulling it to a stop.

Mina accelerated, her car skidding wildly as she tried to pull forward while still being attached to Ralph. He held on as tight as he could, desperate to not let her escape.

Meanwhile, the Viking slammed Barry in the ribs with his club. Barry flew backward and hit a telephone pole, and the entire thing started tilting over. Wires broke and hit the ground, spraying sparks at a young family frozen on the sidewalk. Barry struggled to get up, but pain shot through his mid-section, forcing him back to the ground again.

"Ralph!" Barry yelled as the wires continued to thrash. If something wasn't done quick they would start a fire. "Get the people clear!"

"I'm going to catch the meta!" Ralph cried back, teeth gritted against the strain.

The telephone pole started to fall, sparks flying everywhere. The people in the street scattered, but one girl tripped and landed hard on the pavement, the pole headed straight for her.

Ralph finally let go off the car, and Mina skidded off, smashing into another car as hers shuddered to a stop. "Told you I'd get her!" Ralph cried triumphantly.

Half way down the street, however, a young girl was lying under a telephone pole, her parents screaming for help above her.

Barry heaved himself to his feet, ribs on fire, and ran over to help. He pulled the unconscious girl out from under the pole so that her father could put it down and nodded at the mother. "The EMTs are almost here," he assured her, hearing sirens in the distance. "She's still breathing."

The mom was still frantic, begging her daughter to open her eyes as Barry stood up and exchanged looks with Ralph.

He looked absolutely horrified, but that didn't change Barry's mind. This wasn't working.

They needed to talk.

 **Flash!**

Ralph, apparently, wasn't in the mood for a talk.

After finding out that the girl had a mild concussion and a hairline fracture in her leg (though, the doctor said, considering the accident it was lucky that she hadn't died), Barry turned to Ralph. "We need to talk," he said seriously. "You can't-"

"Don't," Ralph cut him off. His jaw was tight and his voice shook a little as he interrupted Barry. "Just forget it, okay?"

So Barry went back to STAR Labs. Caitlin quickly checked out his ribs, which were healing already and then made him a cup of tea. They sat together on one of the gurneys, drinking their tea in silence. After a good 10 minutes went by were neither of them said a word, Caitlin finally spoke.

"Should you go talk to him?"

"I don't want to," Barry mumbled. "It's not like he listens anyway."

She rested her head on his shoulder, draining the last bit liquid in her mug. "You're going to keep making yourself feel worse and worse if you don't, though," she said softly. "I know you, Barry. Even when something's not your fault, you feel responsible. Even though it was Ralph that had the opportunity to save that kid, you feel guilty that you couldn't get there in time, even after being thrown against a telephone pole and hit in the ribs with a wooden club by an animatronic."

Barry snorted at her recap of his afternoon. "I guess so," he agreed, sighing a little. "Part of me just wants him to deal with it by himself, you know?"

"Hey, after the comment he made this afternoon, so do I," Caitlin assured him dryly. "But that's not the kind of person you are."

She shoved him lightly in the side. "Go on, Flash. Go talk to him."

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Barry groaned, handing her his tea mug and pressing their lips together for a moment. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Barry."

He flashed out of the room to go find his trainee.

 **Flash!**

It was sometime during Ralph and Barry's talk that Mina escaped prison.

"Joe just called," Caitlin informed Barry and Ralph as they strode into the Cortex. "Mina just escaped from the CCPD."

"Apparently she made a tactical dummy go full terminator at the station," Iris continued.

"Well, we know where she's going," Barry said.

"The two pieces of the necklace she stole have been reunited with the third at the museum," Caitlin nodded.

Barry turned to Ralph. "She has killed for these before," he reminded him. "She will kill anyone who gets in her way to reclaim them. It's up to us. Are you ready?"

"Well, I- I was until you said that!" Ralph stuttered. "Jeez Louis, man, what kind of rousing Braveheart speech was that?!"

Barry looked quite close to ripping his own hair out. Or maybe Ralph's. "Just put your thing on," he managed. "Hurry up!"

He flashed into his suit, then stopped in the doorway, waiting for Ralph. Caitlin hurried up to him, feeling a little awkward. "Um, hey... so, do you guys... need any help? I know Frost kinda wants to... you know. Get back in the field and all of that. After what happened last week, it might be a good opportunity for you to teach her the ropes."

Barry's mouth slid sideways. "I don't know, Caitlin..." he murmured. "I have enough to focus on making sure Ralph knows what he's doing. With Frost, too? And what if you got hurt? Mina is _dangerous_."

"So is Frost," Caitlin argued. "And she's actually quite capable to take care of herself."

Barry took a deep breath. "Okay, yes, that's fair. If we need your help, Cisco can vibe you two to the museum."

"Really?" Caitlin looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh! Thank you!" She leaned up and pecked his cheek. "Now, you should go find Ralph. Good luck."

"Thank you," Barry replied, shaking his head fondly and then flashing off to find his partner.

They arrived at the museum as Mina was placing the reunited pieces of the necklace over her head. "Hello, Mina," Barry said as he and Ralph strode forward.

"That belongs in a museum," Ralph told her seriously.

Barry frowned. "This is a museum," he murmured.

"Realized that after I said it."

"Yes," Mina said. "You keep it here as apart of American history. But we're _not_ history. We're still here. Still sacred. As is this necklace. It's going back to the Sioux. Get out of my way!"

Ralph shook his head, both of them standing their ground. "Not after the people you've hurt, Mina. And you're not gonna hurt anyone else."

Mina quirked an eyebrow. "Says who?"

She shut her eyes, murmuring under her breath. A second later, the sound of giant, crashing footsteps filled the museum. Ralph and Barry slowly turned around, and were horrified to see the skeleton of a giant t-rex stomping through the building, animated by Mina's powers.

"Don't... move..." Ralph muttered to Barry. "Their vision... is based... on movement."

The t-rex lunged toward them and roared, and Barry broke into a run, flashing away. He flashed in quick circles around the skeleton's feet, and leapt up for a punch that should destroy the whole thing.

Instead, the t-rex caught him with it's tail, sending him flying across the room. Barry smashed into the empty display case that had held the necklace, glass breaking under him.

Hearing the noises, the museum guard strode into the room, holding his flashlight. "What's going on in here?!" he yelled as Mina raced past him, headed for the stairs.

"Stop!" Ralph commanded, stepping in front of her. "I got you."

Down on the first floor, the t-rex roared at the guard, who's mouth fell open in shock. Ralph's gaze slipped down to him, then back to Mina. She smirked. "What're you going to do, Superhero?"

She pushed past him and Ralph lunged, stretching all the way down the stairs to push the guard out of the way.

The t-rex's teeth clamped down on him, attempting to eat him. Ralph shoved himself out of the skeleton's mouth and stretched around and around it, clamping the jaw shut.

Meanwhile, Mina was racing through the museum, trying to get to an exit. Barry shoved himself up from the broke display case and ran, coming to a stop right in front of her.

"You're really never gonna stop chasing me, are you?" Mina asked, skidding to a stop herself and shaking her head at him.

"No," Barry replied, walking forward. He was annoyed, and pretty sure that one of those pieces of glass had scratched up his new suit. "I'm really not."

"Do you have any idea how many things I could bring to life in this place?" Mina threatened. "The gargoyles on the roof. The reliefs carved into the walls and support pillars. I could bring this whole place down in a matter of seconds."

"But you won't," Barry said. He had noticed a plaque on the side of a display case that read _Sioux Offering Bowl_ , and the pieces had clicked. "Because there's one thing you care about more than vengeance, isn't there?"

Barry reached out and grabbed the offering bowl, tossing it into the air. Mina's eyes went wide with horror and her arm's shot out, trying to catch the bowl.

In a matter of milliseconds, Barry had moved forward, cuffed Mina, and grabbed the precious artifact before it shattered. "I kinda can't believe you fell for that," he admitted, placing the bowl back on it's stand and turning back to Mina. "Come on."

Looking half-shocked and half-annoyed, Mina followed him out of the room.

 **Flash!**

"Hey, what's going on?" Barry called. He was holding a cup of coffee and was followed by Joe, who had also received the text saying ' _Come quick there's been a breakthrough_ ' from Cisco.

Caitlin turned around. She was wearing an incredibly flattering flowy sweater top with the shoulder's cut out and even more flattering black leggings, and it was rather hard to concentrate when she was looking so beautiful.

Her next words made it easier. "We know who he is."

"According to Harry's friends, the name we're looking for is Clifford DeVoe," Cisco said.

"No other profile comes close," Harry agreed.

Barry looked at them in shock. They had figured it out? Just from one last name... they had figured it out.

"The guy keeps a low profile," Iris informed him. "No social media, no criminal record..."

"But we know where he's hiding," Harry said. "43 Hibbard Lane."

"Well, if he's as dangerous as you said, I can call Singh and get a squad over there," Joe offered, glancing over at Barry.

But Barry shook his head. "No," he said. "Let's go get him. Guys. Thawn... Zoom... Savitar... for once, we actually have a chance here to get ahead of our enemy. Let's go get DeVoe."

 **Flash!**

"Is this the place?" Joe asked in a low voice as they approached a beautiful stone entryway.

"It's this," Barry confirmed. "Is everyone ready?"

"Eye in the sky is a go!" Iris reported.

"I have eyes on the front door," Harry said.

"Snow and Frost, standing by," Caitlin told him, resisting an excited grin.

"Just give us the word and we'll breach in," Cisco agreed, putting on his vibing-glasses.

Joe and Barry stepped up to the front door. Joe glanced down and raised his eyebrow. "What kind of criminal mastermind has a welcome mat?"

Barry didn't have an answer, so he just shrugged and reached down to pressed the doorbell. They could hear it ring inside the house, and a couple seconds later, the door swung open.

A woman with long dark hair and a blue flowered dress was standing in the entry hall. She looked vaguely confused to see them there, but gave them both a friendly smile. "Hi! How can I help you?"

"Hi, yes ma'am," Joe said, recovering before Barry. "I'm detective Joe West, CCPD. This is Barry Allen, my associate."

The woman glanced over both of them, looking concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Barry told her quickly. "Uh, yeah, yes. We were just hoping to talk with Clifford DeVoe... is he here?"

The woman nodded nervously. "Yes, he is... may I ask what this is about, officers?"

"We just need to ask him some questions," Joe replied calmly.

"Is something wrong? Is my husband in trouble?" the woman asked, her voice sounding more urgent.

 _Husband_.

The word rang inside Barry's head. How could a evil mastermind be married? He himself was getting married in just a couple of weeks. It struck something inside of him... something a bit like doubt. Had his team been wrong?

"Your husband?" he echoed stupidly.

"No, ma'am," Joe muttered, seeming just as shocked but still able to answer the woman's question.

"Clifford!" the woman called over her shoulder, speaking into the house behind her.

That's when Clifford DeVoe rolled into view.

Yes.

Rolled.

Because the newest "worst enemy" Barry Allen and Team Flash had to face was in a wheelchair.

 **Author's Note: OOOOH that ending tho.**

 **Sorry about the lack of Snowbarry. The thing with season 4 is that some episodes are like** ** _meh_** **(like the next one, unfortunately), and some are like** ** _OMG THIS IS AMAZING_** **(like two episodes away, thankfully).**


	7. 4x07

**Author's Note: I've honestly always seen the x07's of every season to be the "Snowbarry Episode". I mean, we had the power loss in 1x07, Grodd kidnapping Caitlin in 2x07, KILLER FROST OMG in 3x07 and...**

 **literally nothing in 4x07. Here's to hoping that episode 7 of season 5 is better.**

The meeting with Clifford DeVoe had been one of the oddest experiences of Barry's life. Clifford (or his wife, Marlize) hadn't seemed evil in the slightest. They had seemed defensive, maybe, especially Marlize, a little bit confused by the seemingly pointless interrogation, but otherwise like a normal couple.

Then Barry saw the samurai on the wall.

He had had his doubts, stepping into DeVoe's house and noticing the well-worn furniture and pictures on the walls. But not only did he trust his friends, but the samurai coincidence was just too much.

His team, on the other hand, was pretty convinced that DeVoe was _not_ who they were looking for.

"I don't know, Baer," Joe sighed once they all regrouped in STAR Labs. "This shy college professor who likes mac'n'cheese doesn't exactly seem like a criminal mastermind to me."

"C'mon," Barry shook his head. "I mean, it's not like this is the first time someone has acted nice and turned out to be our bad guy. The Council of Wells gave us his name for a reason."

Iris looked dubious. "They gave us one name out of-"

"1,100," Barry finished.

"1,122 to be precise," Harry corrected.

"I'm just saying, there's something weird about this guy," Barry said. "He likes samurai!"

Harry and Cisco both gave him incredulous looks. "Who doesn't?" Cisco asked. "Have you seen Zatuichi, the-"

"Blind swordsmen," Harry finished. They exchanged glances and immediately began to mutter praise for the franchise.

"Okay," Barry interrupted before things could get too off-track. "But think about this. If the Council's right, that means that DeVoe arranged for me to to come out of the Speed Force exactly where he wanted." He looked to Cisco. "Even you couldn't do that."

"Good point," Cisco agreed.

Caitlin nodded. "Okay, let's cover all our bases."

"Agreed," Joe murmured.

"Okay, Cisco, Harry, let's see what kind of digital footprint you can get on this guy," Iris instructed. "Caitlin, you've got friends at CCU. See what kind of guy DeVoe is."

Caitlin smiled. "Will do."

"Dad, CCPD? Background check?"

"You got it."

Caitlin stopped Barry in the hall. "Hey..." she said, giving him a look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Barry smiled at her. "Thank you for asking, though."

His eyes dropped a little as his mind wandered back to DeVoe, his profile picture that had popped up with his information burned into Barry's brain.

Caitlin placed her hand on his cheek, smiling and giving him a bit of a knowing look. "I'm going to head over to CCU," she said softly. "And I'm going to talk to a friend of mine that works in the science department there. She was my roommate in college and we've kept in touch. She should be able to tell me if there's anything weird up with DeVoe, alright?"

"Alright," Barry leaned down and kissed her. "I'll see you soon."

 **Flash!**

Barry snuck into one of DeVoe's lectures, after which he continued to question him and stole his coffee cup. DeVoe was putting on a good act- he seemed naturally uncomfortable by Barry's interrogation, but more in a "why are you doing this to me" way than a "oh no you're going to figure out my secret" way. But the DNA on this coffee cup would prove Barry's theory. He was a metahuman- Barry just knew it.

Unfortunately... he was wrong.

"This is a sample of meta DNA," Caitlin explained, showing him a diagram on her tablet. "This is the DNA you brought me from DeVoe. It's... completely normal. Do you see all the differences? Clifford DeVoe is not a meta."

Barry stood behind her, rubbing the bottom half of his face. How could that be possible?

"Did you two find anything?" Iris asked, trying to break the long silence that had fallen.

Cisco and Harry exchanged looks and then stood together for their presentation on their findings. "Well... he's never been arrested, he pays all his taxes _and_ his mortgage, he has a reasonable 41K plan..." Cisco started, not looking at Barry.

"Donates to the Sierra Club," Harry continued. "Volunteers at an orphanage... is a big brother..."

"Dad didn't find anything, either," Iris put in. "He says he an outstanding member of the community."

"Yeah, and I talked to a couple people at CCU... they said DeVoe is a little absentminded, but everybody likes him."

Even with all of that, Barry still shook his head. "Guys, I'm telling you. Clifford DeVoe... he's not what he seems."

"Could just be the wheelchair," Cisco pointed out. "I mean, we do kinda have a bad history..." he jabbed a finger in Harry's direction.

"That wasn't me," Harry muttered.

"No, come on. He's- he's just _too perfect_ ," Barry said. "Okay? I just... I have a _strong_ feeling that he's hiding something."

Caitlin brushed her hair out of her face, trying to hide her skeptical expression. Saying that someone being "too perfect" made them an evil mastermind was a bit of a stretch. While she trusted Barry's instinct, he also seemed like he was really pushing this with nothing to back him. It just wasn't very scientific.

Barry caught all the looks in the room. "You don't believe me," he said flatly.

"No, it's not that we don't believe you, Barry," Iris protested. "It's just that... right now, DeVoe seems like a good guy."

"Guys, it's him," Barry insisted.

Caitlin gave him a look. "I... I thought we were done just assuming people are villains?" she said softly.

"Right, you know what?" Barry turned around and grabbed the mug from Caitlin's scanner, thrusting it at Cisco. "Vibe him."

Cisco took the mug, looking at it dubiously, before laying it on a table and resting his finger on it.

A couple seconds later he blinked, looking shell-shocked. "You're right..." he muttered. Caitlin's eyes went wide. What had Cisco seen?

But instead of revealing that DeVoe was, in fact, evil, he just licked his lips. "That mac'n'cheese looks unbelievable."

Barry's face, which had lifted with hope, crashed again. Caitlin smiled at him. "See? That doesn't sound very villainous, does it?"

Barry still looked an upsetting mix between frustrated, annoyed and dejected, and Caitlin sighed. "Hey, honey, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," Barry shrugged, getting up and following her out of the room.

"Okay, so what's really going on with you right now?" Caitlin asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"I dunno, Cait." Barry sighed in frustration. "My Spidey-Senses are just really tingling right now."

She raised her eyebrow higher. "Since when do you have Spidey-Senses?"

He gave her a look, trying to seem unamused, but there was a smirk playing around his lips. "No, but seriously. Abra Kedabra said that "DeVoe would be our greatest foe yet". I just... what is he going to do that's going to make him so great? I don't want to find out, and I want to figure out how to stop him before we do."

"I understand that, Barry, I really do," Caitlin said, and she did.

"I feel a 'but' coming on."

" _But_ ," Caitlin continued, shaking her head at him. "Clifford DeVoe doesn't seem like a bad person. Nothing we have found points to him being evil in any way. Even your conversations with him- and yes, I know you _feel_ that something's off, but looking at it from a logical standpoint, it just doesn't make sense."

"I know," Barry sighed. "You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

"I do trust you; you know that, Barry. I just feel like you want DeVoe to be our guy so much that you are starting to see what you want to." Caitlin reached out and cupped his cheeks. "I need to head back and nail down another DJ for our wedding, because the one that you got was fired for drinking too much on the job and dancing with the bride's father. Now, we know that won't be a problem with this specific bride-"

"Cait-"

"Not the point, Barry," she interrupted, not needing this to turn into a sad pity session. "The point is that we are getting married in just a few weeks. Maybe it's not the worst idea to try and get this all out of your head, at least until things settle down a little bit in our lives?"

He nodded, though he didn't say anything in response. Sighing, Caitlin took her hand away from his face and turned to walk down the hallway.

She honestly wasn't sure if she had gotten through to him. She didn't think she had.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin knocked on the wall right outside Barry's lab. "Anyone home?" she asked teasingly, even as she saw Barry burst into speedster mode and run to his desk. The breeze caused papers to fly everywhere and he scrambled to grasp them, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Hey," he said stiffly.

"Hi..." Caitlin held up a bag of Big Belly Burger, eyeing him suspiciously. "Joe said you were having a bad day?"

"No, I'm fine! I'm great, actually. How are you doing?"

Caitlin raised her eyebrows, gaze flicking to the bulletin board that was to the side of his lab. It had been used to document all of his findings on his mother's murder, but now that that was all over...

She reached over and pulled the tab, revealing the board underneath. It was covered in things about DeVoe. Articles, pictures, notes in Barry's handwriting.

"Barry..." Caitlin murmured. "What is this?"

"His wife, Cait," Barry told her, getting to his feet and hurrying around his desk. "She's helping him. No- no, seriously. She's not "Suzy Homemaker" with her perfect mac 'n' cheese- She's got _two_ doctorates, one in robotic engineering and the other in advanced robotics."

"I've got three doctorates!" Caitlin protested. "Does that make me evil?"

Barry shook his head. "No, of course not! But don't you see? That's how they work! He comes up with the plans, but she executes them. She's some kind of mechanical genius!"

"So you think DeVoe _and_ his wife are super villains?" Caitlin confirmed.

"Yes."

" _Listen to yourself_!" Caitlin cried, frustrated beyond belief. "DeVoe has already filed a complaint against you."

"I know..."

"Look." She stepped forward, forcing her voice to be a little more gentle. "Cisco, Harry, Joe... they are the best. And they have found _nothing_ on DeVoe. I'm sorry Barry, but we are getting married in a week. Please..." She reached up and cupped his face. "For the of your job and my sanity... _please_. Just let it go?"

Barry opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

He didn't even nod.

 **Flash!**

"Guys!" Barry announced as he strode into STAR Labs. "I found a camera in the Samuroid head."

"Where did it lead back to?" Caitlin asked, shocked.

"Where do you think?" Barry replied, passing the tiny camera to Cisco.

"DeVoe!" Harry guessed. "So, you pinged the cameras to his computer's IP address. Good..."

"Well, no," Barry said awkwardly. "I didn't... ping it."

Caitlin frowned. "Well, then how did you figure out it was him?"

Cisco held up the device, glaring at Barry. "This camera isn't even active," he said flatly.

"I heard it; it was making a noise!"

"Noise?"

"Yeah," Barry said, pointing to the Samurai. "Inside the Samuroid head. It was buzzing and then I found that thing. He's been watching us for weeks! And I could have proved it, but his wife came back too soon."

There was a long silence in the Cortex. "Too soon?" Caitlin asked, fearing the answer. "From where?"

"Barry," Iris said, striding around the desk and giving Barry a look. "Tell me you didn't break into their house."

"Well-"

"Woooow..." Cisco muttered, putting his head in his hand. Iris rubbed her eyes. Harry's head dropped and Caitlin gave Barry a horrified look.

"Guys, no, that sounds bad but- listen to me! This guy wants us to think we're unassuming, but he's- he's not. He is _powerful_ and smart. And he's been ahead of us every step of the way. He's ahead of us right now!"

"Okay, Allen, calm down," Harry said, getting to his feet.

"I'm fine!"

"Okay."

"We just don't want you to do anything else you regret," Cisco told him calmly.

Barry squinted at them, confused. "What? What do you mean? What have I done?"

"For starters," Caitlin said slowly. "Breaking and entering."

"Oh my God!" Barry yelled, pressing his hands into his forehead. "I don't understand why you guys don't see what's going on! He probably has cameras _everywhere_. At the lab, at the CCPD... he could be _always_ watching us!"

Barry was honestly starting to scare Caitlin. She hadn't seen him acting so... crazy since he came out of the Speed Force. He was _obsessed_. And it was driving him insane.

Suddenly, Barry's phone buzzed. He grabbed at it. "Joe! What's going on?"

The next thing Caitlin knew, he was running out of the lab.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin went to his house that night to check on him. She was honestly worried that he was going to hurt himself, with the way he was acting.

Instead, she found him sitting in front of the window, elbows on knees, staring at the floor. There was a piece of blue paper on his dinning table and she picked it up. "What's this?"

"Restraining order," Barry said softly. "I have to stay 500 feet away from Clifford DeVoe."

Caitlin's eyebrows went up and she sat down on the low windowsill, facing Barry. "Are you going to?"

Barry just looked down.

"Barry," Caitlin whispered. "This is not you. You've gotta stop."

"I can't," Barry murmured, shrugging a little.

"You can't? Or you won't?"

"I don't know anymore." Barry glanced at her, and then looked away again. "I've faced a lot of bad guys. People who had threatened to hurt the ones that I love and destroy everything good in the world and think nothing of it. But this guy... he feels more dangerous than all the others combined. And we still barely know a thing about him. It scares the heck out of me, Caitlin."

"Barry," Caitlin said softly, putting her hand on his knee. "We have been up against so much evil-"

"This is different."

" _How_?"

Barry moved off of his chair, resting on the windowsill so that he was sitting beside her. "Ever since I came out of the Speed Force, I have been constantly and genuinely happy. My friends are safe... Joe's gonna be a dad again... and next week I get to marry the most amazing woman in the entire universe. I have more to lose than ever before."

Caitlin smiled gently at him. She thought she might finally understand what was going on in his head, and it relieved her more than she could say.

"Yeah, but what about after Cecile has her baby?" she asked him quietly, taking his hand. "After we get married? Or... even after we have our first child? As time goes on, there's going to be even more for us to lose. People are always going to be coming after us, but we can't let it consume us. We have to live in the moment and face it as it comes."

Barry smiled back at her, eyes searching hers. "How are you not scared?"

"Because I've got you," Caitlin whispered, kissing him.

 **Flash!**

They had all been brought into STAR Labs, and Caitlin was worried. The night before, it seemed like Barry was finally starting to understand how crazy he was acting. But now...

"I have something I need to tell you all," Barry started. "This morning, I confronted DeVoe."

"Oh my God, Barry, he could get you arrested!" Joe cried, looking horrified.

"No, he wouldn't." Barry shook his head. "He wanted me to come."

Caitlin took a deep breath. He had seen her side of things last night. Maybe now it was time to hear his. "How do you know?"

"Well for starters, he knows I'm the Flash."

Caitlin's stomach dropped. "So you were right all along..."

"We didn't believe you," Cisco muttered. "I'm sorry."

Barry shook his head. "Don't be. DeVoe's been playing all of us."

Harry was standing stoically behind Caitlin's desk, arms crossed. Now he looked up. "How?"

"It's his powers," Barry answered. "He has an intelligence beyond anything we could have imagined. He's orchestrated everything that we've encountered, and moved us like chess pieces in a game we didn't even know we were playing."

Iris shook her head. "How do we stop someone who has super intelligence?"

Cisco shrugged. "We're pretty smart," he commented, before walking across the room to the board and writing _THE THINKER_ in all caps across the top. "The Thinker!" Cisco proclaimed, grinning.

Caitlin nodded, approving of the name. "That's good," Harry agreed. "Nailed it in one."

Cisco shrugged, smiling modestly.

"Guys, it's gonna take all of us to stop him," Iris murmured.

"Sounds like you all could use a hand," said a voice from behind them.

All of them turned to see Wally West standing in the doorframe into the Cortex. Joe and Iris' faces lit up and rushed up to him with hugs.

"How's Blue Valley?" Barry asked once the youngest West had been passed to him for a hug.

"Self-reflection and a battle with a blue starfish from outer space gives you perspective," Wally replied, smirking a little.

"So you found what you were looking for?"

"I don't know, to be honest," he shrugged. Joe laughed and grabbed him in another hug, and Barry's arm slid over Caitlin's shoulders. She snuggled into his side. While she shouldn't be relieved that they now had a massively evil genius to be dealing with, she _was_ relieved that Barry hadn't been going crazy. She just hoped that next time, she would believe him when his "Spidey Sense" started tingling.

 **Flash!**

When Barry got home, there was a surprise visitor lounging on his couch.

"Um... Frost," he greeted awkwardly. "Hello."

"Hey, Flash," Frost said, winking at him. "I wanted to have a chat."

Barry moved cautiously into his living room, perching on the edge of the chair across from Frost. "About..?"

"This DeVoe guy." Frost crossed her ankles and propped her legs up on the coffee table. "Deep down, Caitlin believed you. She's just too smart for her own good, you know. That logical side of her brain is one that we _don't_ share."

"Right."

Frost shrugged. "Just thought you might want to know."

There was a long silence, before Frost spoke again. "So you guys are getting married next week?"

Barry nodded slowly. This was weirder than he could have thought possible, but he didn't want to offend Frost by acting as though it was. "Umm, yeah. Quick... question. Does that include you, too? Like, am I marrying you?"

"I have no clue, handsome," Frost shrugged. "I don't make the rules. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time someone has had a metahuman personality living peacefully inside of their brain with their knowing consent, so I guess you and Caity get to decide how things work."

"Right," Barry said again.

There was another long silence. Then Frost stood up. "Well, I've got places to go.. people to freeze..."

Barry winced. "I really can't let you hurt anyone-"

"Kidding, Flash, relax," Frost laughed. "The most someone is going to lose is a toe if they're being especially rude."

She swept out the door, leaving Barry to sit a mule over their conversation. It was an interesting thought, marrying Frost. He had only met her a couple of weeks ago.

But if it happened, it happened. In reality, he was just marrying Caitlin, the love of his life.

"One more week, Barry," he thought, smiling, and went to find himself some dinner.

 **Author's Note: DEAR LORD THANK GOD THAT CHAPTER IS OVER!**

 **Oh my gosh- seriously my** ** _least favorite episode in all of season 4_** **. It sucked** ** _majorly_** **.**

 **But! the next episode is the crossover! Word of warning- it's gonna be looooonggggg...**


	8. 4x08

**Author's Note: CROSSOVER TIME LET'S GO BOIIIIIIIISSSSS!**

 **Soooo... okay. There's a song in here, you know? Caitlin's gotta go up the aisle to _something_. And... well... I may have actually written the song that I put in here? I wrote it for Snowbarry, and it just kinda worked. So enjoy :) **

Caitlin woke up at six o'clock am and _squealed_.

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner and tomorrow...

She was going to marry Barry Allen.

Caitlin rolled out of bed and put her hair in a bun. Two nights before (of course it _had_ to be that soon, because superheroes could never answer anything in advance) Team Arrow, Team Legends and Team Supergirl had all RSVP-ed to let Barry and Caitlin know they were going to be at the wedding. Caitlin was meeting with Felicity, Iris and Kara at 9 o'clock sharp for manicures, and she needed to eat something before she left.

After making herself a very gourmet breakfast (hey, she had the time), trying on four different dresses, and curling her hair, Caitlin still had two hours to kill.

She called Barry. "Hey, Mr. Allen."

"Hello there, Mrs. Snow-Allen-To-Be," Barry replied, a smile in his voice. "You been up long?"

" _Forever_ ," Caitlin groaned. "I want to see you."

"I know, me too," Barry agreed. "Should I run over?"

"No, it's alright," Caitlin said. "I'll see you tonight? At the rehearsal dinner?

Barry hummed his ascent. "Look, I gotta go. I'm meeting Oliver and Cisco at Jitters for breakfast and then a suit fitting and I don't want to be late."

"Alright," Caitlin agreed. "I probably should head out soonish anyway. The girls planned a manicure, and then we have to go to dress fittings, and Iris may have even planned a massage."

"Sounds fun!" Barry said. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Caitlin smiled, before hanging up.

She bustled around her apartment, peeking in at her wedding dress at least sixteen times and squealing with excitement every time she remembered that tomorrow, she would be marrying the man of her dreams

Finally, it was time to get herself into the car and drive to the salon that Iris had picked out.

Felicity was already there, sitting in the waiting room on her phone. She leapt up and beamed when she saw Caitlin. "Hello, wedding girl! How are you feeling?"

" _So excited_! I cannot _wait_ for tomorrow." Caitlin gushed, grabbing her in a hug. "So good to see you again!"

"I just got a text from Iris; she's on her way," Felicity assured her. "And Kara should be flying in from her Earth any minute now."

Caitlin, unable to resist, let out a giggle from the pure ridiculousness of it all. She and Barry were going to have people from _three different Earths_ at their wedding. She didn't think anyone else in the world could say that.

True to Felicity's word, Iris and Kara arrived. Caitlin gave both girls a hug, and Iris went to take care of their pre-made manicure plans.

"Caitlin," Felicity said as she walked into the room a couple minutes after they got settled, holding a tall glass of champagne. "You are literally _glowing_."

"Aww..." Caitlin grinned, taking the glass with her free hand, her other being submerged in warm water.

"It's pregnant woman who glow," Iris corrected. "Brides blush."

"Right," Caitlin giggled. "Blushing bride, check! The other one... not just yet."

"Oh, it doesn't get better than this, ladies!" Felicity gushed, sitting down and extending her hand to her personal attendant.

"I know," Kara agreed vehemently. "It feels so good just to be away from... it all. _Everything._ "

Caitlin frowned. "Where's Mon-El?" she asked.

Kara laughed awkwardly, the smile on her face decidedly forced. "You know what? It's a long story. But thank you for letting me bring my sister as a plus one."

"Oh, absolutely," Caitlin smiled. "I can't wait to meet her."

The electric nail file that was being used on Kara suddenly buzzed and began to smoke. "Ah!" Kara winced, sending her manicurist an apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry... I should have warned you. I take a lot of carotin."

" _Super_ strong nails!" Felicity agreed.

"So..." Iris said, changing the subject. "You and Oliver? Do you think you guys might be the next ones to pop on some rings?"

Felicity shrugged. "Maybe when the cities no longer under attack and Oliver's no longer under indictment and he's spent enough time with the son who's still mourning the loss of his mother..."

"So, any day now!" Caitlin finished brightly.

"Any day now," Felicity agreed.

"Well, cheers Caitlin, to your big day," Iris said, holding up her glass.

"Cheers!" the other girls echoed.

"Thanks, girls," Caitlin said, smiling around at them all happily. "I'm really glad you could be here."

 **Flash!**

Barry was feeling a lot less giddy and a lot more nervous, standing in front of the mirror in his specially tailored suit. "I've been in love with Caitlin for four years, and through all of the toughest and most amazing moments of my life." he sighed. "How am I supposed to fit all that love into one vow? I've already written 48 pages, single spaced."

"You could always speed-read it!" Oliver suggested helpfully from his dressing room.

Barry pouted grumpily. "No, no one would understand. I don't know what to do, man. I need help."

"Barry," Oliver said, coming out of the dressing room. Barry spun around and whistled. Oliver looked _amazing_. "When you're up there, and you look into her eyes, the words will come. And if they don't, the look on your face will tell her everything she needs to know."

Barry sighed and nodded, and Oliver gave him the once over. "You clean up nice, my friend."

"Yeah, thanks, you too." Barry agreed, walking away from the mirror.

Cisco popped out of another dressing room and walked towards them, looking just as nice in his spiffy suit. "Hey, dudes, lookin' great," he complimented. "I can't believe you're really doing this, Barry."

"Hey, what can I say?" Barry shrugged, grinning. "I got the girl." He glanced sideways at Oliver. "And so did you. Ever think about making it official?"

"Again?" Oliver asked, smiling slightly. "Yeah. I just think that with everything going on right now it's just not- it's just not the right time."

"You love her," Barry shrugged.

"I love her _so much_."

"Put a ring on it," Barry said simply, winking. "People like us are always gonna be getting into trouble, right?"

"You know that's right," Cisco agreed, straightening his suit in front of the mirror. "Still think this thing makes me look fat, though it's not like I've got any ladies to impress considering I'll be standing next to Oliver McSmokeypants over there."

Oliver snorted, shaking his head, and Barry laughed. "Trust me, Oliver," he said, patting his friend's shoulder. "Having someone you love by your side just makes that trouble easier to get out off."

 **Flash!**

That night at the rehearsal dinner, Caitlin found Barry standing in the back of the room. She wasn't, of course, in her wedding dress, but Barry looked absolutely gorgeous in his suit, and she told him so.

"Thanks, Caitlin," Barry said, wrapping his arm around her as they looked out at the room. "I'm so glad this is finally happening."

"Me too," Caitlin murmured. "I honestly don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight."

It was so incredibly nice to see all their friends and family together in one room, meeting each other for the first time, friends and teammates hugging and laughing and talking together like they had friends for years.

"I never pegged you as a wedding guy," Cisco said as he walked up to Mick Rory.

"I never pass up an open buffet," Mick grumbled. "Or an open bar." He reached out and took Cisco's beer from his hands before wandering away and spotting Caitlin.

"Didn't I try to kidnap you once?" he asked, frowning thoughtfully.

Barry, a couple feet away, looked up and raised his eyebrow. Caitlin sent Mick a look. "Yes," she said. "I wouldn't try that again."

Mick shrugged and wandered away toward the bar, where Alex was pouring herself a drink. She tipped it all back in one gulp and was about to reach for the alcohol again when another hand took it from her. "Someone who drinks like that is looking for something to go away," Sara Lance commented, pouring a shot for herself.

"Yeah," Alex muttered. "Well..." She trailed off as Sara took a shot. "What are _you_ looking to make go away?"

"Nothing," Sara said with a half smile. "I just like the taste of scotch."

"Fair enough," Alex shrugged, pouring herself another drink. The alcohol in her hand made her brave enough to say: "I just called off my engagement."

"Ooh."

"Yeah... So to be here... It really brings up a lot."

"What?" Sara asked. "You catch him cheating?"

"Nuh uh," Alex corrected. " _Her_. And it wasn't anything like that. We just wanted different things. You know. Wish I had realized that sooner, and made the break before later came around."

"So, let me guess," Sara said, pouring them both more alcohol. "Being at the rehearsal dinner for the World's Cutest Couple is probably the last place you want to be."

"It stings a little, yeah," Alex agreed.

Sara lifted her drink. "To making things go away."

"And loving the taste of scotch," Alex agreed.

They both drank.

Barry and Caitlin had wandered away from each other to go and socialize, and Barry found himself on the balcony on his search for Kara.

"Hey," he called, walking up the steps and over to stand beside her.

"Hey," she replied and they both laughed like the awkward dorks they were. "This is really nice," Kara continued. "Thanks for having me."

"Of course!" Barry beamed. "I, uh, I actually wanted to ask you for a favor." He peeked over the banister, and raised his eyebrow. "Wow. Your sister seems to be tipping the elbow pretty heavy."

"Oh, it's fine," Kara assured him. "No one can drink Alex under the table. She's had a rough time lately."

Barry looked at her, his gaze soft. "She's not the only one, I'm guessing. I just noticed you don't have your plus one with you."

Kara sighed, forcing her smile to stay on her face. "I am... plus zero, these days."

"I'm sorry," Barry murmured. "What happened with Mon-El?"

Kara puffed out her cheeks. "What _didn't_ happen?" she asked. "The end of the world..."

"Faced it. Three times."

"Time travel..."

"I've been there a _lot_."

"He's married to someone else..."

Barry opened his mouth, and then stopped. "Oh! Well that's... I got nothing for that. Sorry."

"I mean, it's my own fault," Kara sighed. "I keep forgetting that my life should only be about Supergirl. But, you know, life keeps finding a way to remind me."

Barry glanced away, down at the party a floor below them. "I finally got Oliver to admit it's okay to have love in his life. Now I gotta convince you, too?"

Kara cracked a smile. "It's different for you guys," she argued. "You're human."

"And you're, what? Other than an alien."

Kara huffed out a breath, her eyes large and blue behind her fake glasses. "Alone."

She looked for a second like she might cry, but then she shook her head and changed the subject. "Um- anyway, what was the favor you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh!" Barry blinked, rerouting his brain to why he had come up here in the first place. "The last adventure we went on together I learned about a very cool _non_ -super power ability that you have."

"Yes...?"

"I was wondering if you might mind... breaking it out?" Barry grinned at her, unable to contain his excitement. "I _might_ have written a song, and I think you may want to hear it."

About a half hour later, Barry was back down with Caitlin and Cecile was passing out glasses of champagne. Joe glanced around the room. "Can I have everyones' attention for a second?" he called, and the murmuring dwindled down to silence. "Grab a drink? All right."

Joe looked at Barry and Caitlin, smiling at the two of them. "So, the old man has a few words to say," he started. "But what could I possibly say about Barry and Caitlin that everyone in this room doesn't already know? They're special... and kind... and brave... but we all know that, so I'm gonna talk about somebody you might not know. Me.

'For the longest time, I have been happy just to be a father to Barry. But watching him face what he and Caitlin have in the last few years with grace and trust and understanding and love, _so much love-_ You see two people who love like that, and you want it too."

He held out his hand and Cecile murmured in surprise, walking over to him and blushing.

"So, Barry. Caitlin. Thank you for showing me how to love again. For showing me that love is the most important thing we have. I love you guys." His voice shook and he raised his glass. "To Barry and Caitlin."

"To Barry and Caitlin," the rest of the room echoed.

Sniffling a little and taking a sip of her drink, Caitlin walked over to Joe and hugged him. "Thank you so much," she whispered. "For everything that you've done for me- all the kindness and understanding and forgiveness... I could never repay you for that."

"You have made Barry... the _happiest_ man alive," Joe told her, pulling back so he could look Caitlin in the eye. "That's all the repayment I need."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin woke up the next morning to a croissant and strawberries lying on a plate, with a red rose in a vase next to it and card all sitting on her bedside table.

Blinking sleep from her eyes, she reached for the note.

 _'Bad luck for Groom to see Bride on wedding day!'_ it read. _'But I just had to stop bye:)_ '

Caitlin smiled at Barry's handwriting and felt excited butterflies rush up from her stomach.

She was getting married today.

It was around seven in the morning when Caitlin looked up at her clock, and after eating her croissant and drinking the mug of coffee that Barry had also generously brought her, Caitlin rolled out of bed. Iris and Felicity were set to be coming over in about an hour to help her get dressed and do her hair and makeup.

She took a shower and started the process by blow drying her hair and getting her dress and makeup laid out. By the time she was finished, both girls had arrived in red-clothed bundles of excited energy.

They sat Caitlin down, and began.

Already at the church, Barry was standing just off of the alter, fiddling with his suit coat buttons. He was nervous. He didn't know _why_ he was nervous- marrying Caitlin was the thing he wanted to do most in his life. But seeing all these people milling around the church, a good half of them superheroes, and feeling his, still very scatterbrained, vows tucked into the front pocket of his suit, there were King Shark sized butterflies swarming around in his stomach.

"Sparkling water?" a voice suggested, and Barry spun around.

The voice had come from one of the serving girls, a teenager with brown hair with a streak of white in it. She smiled up at Barry, something about her brown eyes looking remarkably familiar.

"I just thought you might be a little thirsty," the girl explained. "Big day jitters and all. You're getting married! Today."

"I am," Barry said awkwardly, having already known that fact. "Yeah. I am. Today."

"Yeah," she breathed. "So... sparkling water? I have lemon... lime?"

Barry didn't think he stomach could handle even normal water at the moment. "I'm good," he declined. "Thank you."

"Okay!" the server agreed, the smile not leaving her face. "I'm really excited to be here. I mean at a wedding. I mean any wedding. It just so happens to be your wedding."

This girl was decidedly odd. "You love weddings," Barry said.

"I really do, actually. And I don't know... I just feel like this is gonna be one for the ages."

Barry nodded slowly.

"I'm really happy I got to see it," the girl beamed.

That smile... Barry knew that smile, he was almost sure of it. He squinted at her. "Have we met?"

"No! No, no, I'm a complete and total stranger," the girl said quickly. She reached out and grabbed Barry's wrist. "Good luck up there. Remember to say I Do."

Something in her eyes had changed. She looked less awkward and more intense, and Barry gave her a searching look. There was something... _off_ about this girl.

Then the beaming smile returned and she nodded, giving his wrist one last squeeze and walking away with her trey of sparkling water.

Strings started up. Barry's heart caught and his hands started to tremble as Kara hurried up the aisle and to the microphone he had set up for her earlier this morning. Cisco nodded and Barry and the two of them and Oliver stepped up onto the alter.

Kara started to sing. " _I don't fight for myself/ I don't fight for the world/ I fight for you/ You're there when I need to talk/ You're there when everyone else is not/ I just need you/ And yeah/ These past few months have been tough/ And I wish I could make the past change/ And I/ Have made so many mistakes/ But hopefully it's not one to say/ We've been through/ we've been through/ Too much/ To let each other down now/ Take my hand/ Run away with me/ We can work this out somehow/ We've both got doubts/ We've both got fears/ We both have things that we've been through his year/ We haven't talked/ I wasn't there/ And now I'm showing you that I still care._ "

Barry zoned out. Everyone in the church stood up and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life came walking down the aisle.

Caitlin gripped onto Joe's arm, wishing she could concentrate on the words to the song but completely unable to. The train of her long white dress trailed behind her on the floor with a soft swishing noise, the paper wrapped around her bouquet of red and blue roses crinkling against her hand.

The addition of blue to their wedding colors had been a recent change. Frost had gotten a bit affronted that there was nothing representing her at her own half-wedding, and so Caitlin had quickly gone online and ordered three blue roses. They had _not_ been easy to find, but Frost's happiness had been worth it.

Caitlin reached the front of the alter, passing her bouquet off to a beaming Iris. Barry was already tearing up and the ceremony hadn't even started.

Joe leaned down and kissed Caitlin's cheek, before placing his hand on Barry's shoulder and squeezing. "I wish your parents were here to see this," he said softly.

Barry smiled at him, taking Caitlin's hands in his own. "They are."

The song finished and the minister spoke for the first time. "Everyone please be seated."

There was a loud rustling and creaking as everyone in the church sat down in unison. Caitlin squeezed Barry's hands, the delicate curls framing her face sliding over her cheeks. She looked more incredibly beautiful than anything Barry had ever seen.

"Welcome to you all," the minister continued. "I am very glad to be presiding over the wedding of Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow. Although I don't know them well, I know that this is a good match. How do I know that? Well, because of you," he gestured out to the congregation. "Because of all of you. Looking out at their friends and their family and seeing the joy on all of their faces, seeing how happy you are for them... it tells me everything I need to know. It tells me that these two people deserve to be together. They deserve to be happy, and fulfilled, and they deserve a long life together."

The minister opened up his book. "Now for the standard housekeeping," he said. "Does anyone have just cause why these two should not be married?"

"I can see Frost coming out and protesting," Caitlin whispered, just loud enough for Barry to hear.

His lips twitched violently, trying to resist the urge to laugh.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace!" the minister proclaimed.

Then he was promptly disintegrated by a beam of blue light.

Caitlin let out a gasp and she and Barry spun towards the entrance of the church. There was a crunch of breaking wood as the door was broken down, and then dozens of black clothes, helmeted soldiers stormed into the church.

"Peace is overrated!" a figure, who seemed to be flying in the same way Kara did, said in a robotic voice.

Caitlin and Barry exchanged looks. "Oh you've _got_ to be kidding me," Caitlin whispered.

"Nazis?" Oliver murmured. "I _hate_ Nazis."

As civilians and the tech support of the many different superhero teams in the room dove for cover behind pews, Team Arrow, Supergirl, Flash and Legends got to their feet.

In front of Barry and Caitlin, Jax and Stein clapped hands and morphed into Firestorm. He threw a blast of fire at the door and wood exploded, Nazis flying backward.

"Get everybody out of here!" Kara yelled, yanking off her glasses.

"Go," Barry commanded Wally. "Get everyone out."

He turned to Caitlin. "Speaking of Frost," he said quickly, as the Nazis started to recover. "Any chance that she could come to her own wedding and help us out a bit?"

Caitlin nodded quickly, and Barry leaned down and kissed her. "You look beautiful," he told her. "And I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Caitlin murmured, before her hair slid to white and Frost stood before Barry. She looked down at her dress and tilted her head. "Would you look at that? Caitlin actually made an okay fashion choice for once."

"Come on, everybody out!" Harry yelled, gesturing widely as non-super powered guests streamed for the exits. Wally flashed around the room, grabbed police men who probably wouldn't have left on their own accord and bringing them to safety.

Sara Lance and Alex Danvers (who had spent a very inebriated and pleasurable evening together the night before) both jumped out of their pews and yanked the fabric of their dresses, creating a tear that would allow them to fight. Then they looked at each other, nodded, and began to run into the fray.

Mick was still hiding behind a pew when Frost strode down the aisle, shooting ice out of her hands. He did a double take before grinning widely. "Ah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" He got to his feet, grabbed his gun, and began viciously roasting anything in his path.

"Who are you?" Kara yelled, staring up at what seemed to be a copy of herself, just evil, more robotic, and covered all over in black and maroon.

"Come find out!" the robotic voice challenged, before flying towards Kara at astounding speed.

Kara met her in the middle of the air and they spun together in a tangle of attacks, flying straight through the roof of the church.

Arrows began to fly, coming from a man clothed in a completely covering black suit and hood. Oliver took cover behind a pillar and pulled out a bow handle from a spot on his belt. He flicked his wrist and the handle expanded into a full bow. In seconds, Oliver was firing back.

Frost, meanwhile, was getting bored of the rather defensive standing at the alter and firing. She had a niggling suspicion that Barry wouldn't want her getting any closer to the real action, but she didn't care. He himself was wizzing around, catching dozens of bullets before they could imbed themselves into bodies.

Shrugging, Frost formed a giant icicle around her hand and advanced, slashing Nazis right and left as she forced her way down the aisle.

Wally caught one of the black-clad archer's arrows and grinned, but he was soon knocked to the ground as surge of electricity came from the weapon.

Oliver glanced up at the archer, seeing his was loading another arrow into his bow. "Cisco!" he yelled. "I need a breach up there!"

Cisco nodded and thrusted out his hand, and Oliver leapt into the swirling blue pool. He came out on the balcony with his bow already up and raised.

The dark archer swung at him with his bow and Oliver ducked, locking the two of them into a vicious battle of fists and bows. Across the church, Sara and Alex were fighting the other dark-clad Nazi leader. They managed to get him unconscious on the ground, and gave each other triumphant high-fives.

Kara's fight wasn't going so well. She and the other flying girl had been in the air for quite a few minutes, but now she came crashing through the large front window. Wood and pieces of glass exploded where she landed, a board flying up and cracking into Cisco's head.

He crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and two Nazis took that opportunity to close in on him.

But Barry got there first, moving the gun as one of them started firing so that he shot his comrade and turning towards the other.

An icicle bloomed out of the Nazis' shoulder and Barry glanced up. Frost winked at him and stabbed another Nazi.

"Stay down!" the black Supergirl commanded, flying through the hole in the roof Kara had made.

Kara gritted her teeth, growled, and then spun. She clapped her hands together with such force a shockwave radiated out in all directions. The flying Nazi was shoved backwards by the force, crumpling to the ground, and every single window in the church broke. Barry slammed his hands over his ears, the sound radiating like church bells.

Kara stalked toward the Nazi and punched her hard in the stomach. She flew down the aisle, landing with a pained gasp.

"NO!" the dark archer bellowed from the balcony, before he left his fight with Oliver and jumped down. He picked up the black-clad Supergirl and threw her over his shoulder. "Fall back," he ordered. "Everybody fall back."

Then he grabbed a flare from his belt and smashed it on the floor. Bright light blinded everyone, and when the spots in their eyes cleared, the Nazis had gone.

Frost took the opportunity to run over to Cisco. Barry reached him at the same time and the two of them crouched down, checking on their unconscious friend.

"We need to get him somewhere other than his church so Caity can do a checkup," Frost told Barry. "I gotta go- she's getting antsy to know what happened."

Barry nodded, placing his hand on her arm. "Thank you for your help," he said.

She smiled. "No problemo, handsome."

Next thing he knew, Caitlin was blinking around at the destruction of the church. "What happened?" she asked Barry urgently, noticing Cisco on the ground and immediately checking his pulse. "Did you defeat the Nazis?"

"Kind of," he shrugged. "They retreated. But Sara and Alex got one of their leaders knocked out."

Barry got to his feet. "Everyone regroup at STAR Labs," he called, getting the attention of the superheroes in the room. "We can get that guy in the Pipeline and ask him a few questions."

 **Flash!**

It turned out that the man underneath the black mask was Tommy Merlin, Oliver's deceased best friend. The Teams gathered upstairs in the Cortex to discuss this new development.

"He's an acronie!" Mick grumbled.

"Anachronism," Martin Stein corrected rolling his eyes.

"That's what I said."

"Lately, we've been dealing with anachronisms," Sara elaborated. "People and things displaced throughout time."

"Okay, but what would Nazis from 1945 want to crash Caitlin and Barry's wedding?" Iris asked. She was still wearing her red bridesmaid dress, and Caitlin could see goosebumps on her arms.

"Crab legs," Mick suggested. "They were delicious."

"Iris has a point, though," Alex commented. "If they're out of their time, they would have targeted the military, or law enforcement."

"Tommy was plucked from five years ago and put in the Prometheus wardrobe," Felicity said, pulling the sleeves of Oliver's suit coat tighter around her. "That just doesn't make any sense!"

Caitlin tilted her head. "It _does_ if we're not dealing with an Anachronism," she pointed out.

Barry nodded. "Visitors from another Earth?"

"What? There are more than one?" Jax asked, squinting in confusion.

Kara stood up. "There are 52, actually."

"Though I'm hard pressed to think of one where Nazis are ascendent," Martin commented.

"I can," Harry spoke up. "There's a 53rd Earth. And it's called Earth X. It doesn't have a designation because it's so awful... so _horrific_... no sane person would ever travel there. Basically our Earth; same history, same timeline, but with one crucial, critical difference."

"Let me hypothesize," Martin said gravely. "The Nazis developed the atomic bomb before the United States did, and they're more than happy to use it."

"Yes," Harry nodded. "The Nazis won the war. London, New York, Paris... all obliterated. The SS set up outposts not only all through Europe but also all throughout the Americas. And Hitler continued his brutal reign, hated by Prime Ministers and Presidents until his death in 1994."

"Now they're not happy just ruling one Earth," Felicity said. Her face was drawn, the shadows from the pieces of hair that were out of her bun making her look a lot older. She turned around, pale. "God, this is making me physically ill."

As she excused herself to get some air, Kara spoke up. "We have to find them. I mean, do you think they're using a breach to hop between worlds...?"

"Either that or they're operating from a central area," Alex put in. "Either Central City or close by."

Barry nodded. "Well, good thing we have a metric ton of smart people in the building. Don't worry. Let's get to work finding our new friends from Earth X."

 **Flash!**

The Nazis came to them, and after Felicity tracked their locations, Kara, Oliver and Barry went to meet them.

It was then that they found out that Kara and Oliver's doppelgängers were two of the three lead Nazis.

The third was Eobard Thawn.

"I just can't believe he's back again," Barry murmured. He and Caitlin were standing in the Time Vault, looking over Eobard's files. Caitlin was pressed up against his side, head on his shoulder. "I don't know if I'll ever be rid of him."

Caitlin nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I know how much you're hurting right now and I'm so sorry."

"I just keep looking for closure but when I look at him all I see is..."

"You're mother dying," Caitlin finished softly. She pulled back a little so she could look him in the eye. "You're going to stop him."

"How do you know?" Barry asked, gazing at her.

"Because you always do."

"And because we're not going to let you do it alone," Oliver said, stepping into the room. Caitlin took a step away from Barry as they turned around, a little uncomfortable with the sudden intrusion. "We're getting closer on a location," Oliver continued. "Look guys; I'm sorry. This is not how this week was supposed to go."

"We don't need to think about that right now," Caitlin said softly.

"We should," Oliver countered. "When we fight we do it to protect the people that we love. So you guys... recognize what you two have. Recognize it and cherish it, and let it make you two stronger. 'Cause if you do that... you'll always find your way back to one another."

Barry sighed softly. "Same for you and Felicity, man," he reminded his friend.

"I don't know," Oliver said simply. "I don't know. She told me she doesn't believe in marriage. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself, I just feel like... if she loved me the way I love her... she'd want to marry me."

Caitlin's eyes dropped. She had talked with Felicity about all of this less than three hours ago. Felicity was scared. She had seen what had happened the last time she was engaged and she had seen what had happened at Caitlin's wedding. She didn't want her marriage to Oliver to change anything or to mess things up. Caitlin had told her, as tactfully as possible, that marriage was simply an event. It couldn't be cursed, and things could be set to go wrong just because it happened. It was something beautiful, that people wanted, not because it changed things, but because it made them better.

But, even though she was scared to get married, Felicity loved Oliver. In Caitlin's eyes, there was no doubting that.

"Oliver, I've known Felicity for five years," Barry told him, agreeing with Caitlin's thoughts. "And I'm here to tell you as sure as I'm standing here: she loves you."

Caitlin's eyes trailed over his shoulder. "Felicity," she murmured, but Oliver didn't seem to get what she meant.

"I appreciate that, guys," he said, nodding.

"No, like, she's right there," Barry mumbled awkwardly.

Oliver turned, eyes wide, but Felicity just nodded. "We got them," she reported. "They're at a shipping depot just outside Danville."

"Alright," Barry said, already trying to sneak out of the Queen/Smoak drama. "We'll get the band together."

He hurried out of the Time Vault, Caitlin close behind him.

 **Flash!**

While Kara, Barry, Oliver, Sara, Alex, Jax and Stein all went out to fight the Nazis, Caitlin found Felicity leaning over a desk, staring off into space.

"Hey," she greeted gently, walking across the room. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Felicity said immediately, before blinking. " _No_."

Caitlin nodded, feeling the same nervous dread pooling in her stomach. These Nazis were dangerous. She had a feeling this attack mission wasn't going to go as well as the heroes seemed to think.

She stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Felicity. "It's going to be okay," she whispered.

The doors to the Cortex slid open. "Mustard!" Mick proclaimed, striding into the room. "These people have sandwiches, but no mustard!"

Caitlin squinted at him in confusion. "Um... what?"

"Yeah, what are you even doing here?" Felicity agreed. "Why didn't you go with them?"

Mick frowned, stuffing a bite of bread into his mouth. "Go where?"

Iris stomped into the Cortex, holding up a jar of mustard. "Did you even check the fridge?" she demanded.

"Oh." Mick seemed surprised to see the mustard in Iris' hand. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Iris wrinkled her nose in disgust at the pet name and shoved the jar into Mick's hand. "Any word from the Team?" she asked Felicity.

"Well, they're at the ship in depot, but it's just radio silence," Felicity replied.

Not even three minutes later, a STAR Labs Breach alarm started blaring. The four in the Cortex looked around with wide eyes until Mick took charge. "You and you," he grunted, pointing at Felicity and Iris. "Hide."

"What about Caitlin?" Iris asked.

Mick smirked. "It's gonna get a lot colder in here."

 **Flash!**

Meanwhile, the fight with the Nazis wasn't going well.

Barry found himself locked up with power dampening cuffs against a pillar with the rest of his team, head aching from numerous blows and unable to use his speed. They were trapped.

But the worst part -the scariest part- was hearing Earth X Oliver say that STAR Labs was secure.

"If you hurt our friends-" Barry started threateningly.

"I did hurt your friends!" X-Oliver interrupted stiffly. "I rather enjoyed hurting your friends."

Barry swallowed.

"Are they alive?" Oliver asked softly.

"Yes," X-Oliver replied. "For now."

It turned out that Earth X Kara needed the Supergirl-Kara to save her life. She was sick, having been exposed to too much solar radiation. All they needed was a heart... and Kara was the only one who could supply that.

So Kara was taken, and the rest of them were promptly knocked out.

When Barry awoke, he was on hard cobblestones. The sound of a bored announcement was playing over echoey speakers, and when he forced his eyes open and stood up, he could see they were in a gated prison.

But not just any prison.

They were on Earth X.

 **Flash!**

Mick wasn't very good at planning attacks.

Caitlin hadn't even had time to transform into Frost before Nazis were swarming into the Cortex. They raised their guns, forcing her and Mick to get on their knees with their hands up.

Then they were dragged unceremoniously into the Pipeline and shoved into cells.

Caitlin had no idea where Iris and Felicity had ended up. She hoped they were hiding somewhere safe and out of the way, and not that they were captured by the Nazis and about to be killed with no one to go save them.

As they were sitting in the Pipeline, listening to Harry annoying bounce a ball against the wall, Cisco woke up.

"Ugh..." he groaned, moving away from the wall he was smushed against. "This doesn't look like a wedding."

Caitlin smiled a little at his words. "You missed quite a bit, Cisco."

"All you need to know is that you are locked in one of your famous anti-metahuman cells and, like the rest of us, can't escape." Harry spoke up, bouncing his ball again and then catching it.

"Of course we can't," Cisco cried grumpily. "That's what I designed them for, genius."

"Good command of the obvious."

Caitlin sighed. "Boys..." she said warningly. They were already stuck in these cells, they didn't need Harry and Cisco going at it on top of that.

"Is that a ball?" Cisco asked, listening to the repetitive thump-thumps from above him.

"Is it bothering you?"

"Yes," Cisco complained, head still aching from the board that had knocked him out.

Harry kept on bouncing the ball.

"Are they going to do that the entire time we're in here?" Dinah, whos cell was close to Caitlin's, asked.

"Mm, probably," Caitlin shrugged. She sighed, sitting back down in her cell. She just hoped that Barry and the rest of the team were safe, and that they'd be back soon to get them out of this mess.

 **Flash!**

The ever resourceful Felicity and Iris managed to shut down STAR Labs' power, putting a stop to Kara's involuntary heart transplant. Unfortunately, when they opened the elevator to get her to the sun to heal, they were met by a lanky metal robot.

His name was Metalo, and he knocked the already weak Kara back with a blast of Kryptonite. The next think Iris and Felicity knew, they were being grabbed by Nazi soldiers and taken back to the Cortex.

Felicity _had_ been able to create one kind of lasting damage, however. Without the power of the red sun, Eobard couldn't operate on Kara and take her heart for the Earth X Supergirl. To make sure that power would remain off, Felicity had put an encryption in, one that Eobard couldn't break.

Unfortunately, he and Earth X Oliver (which was painful enough, considering he had the face and voice of the man she loved) figured out that she had put the encryption on.

"Felicity Smoak," X-Oliver said, her name so familiar in his voice to her, yet so cold and hard and filled with hatred. "Turn the power back on.

Felicity didn't say anything.

"He said... turn the power back on!" Eobard repeated, before moving into super speed and slamming Felicity against the wall, hand on her throat.

"Felicity!" Iris screamed.

"I'm sorry, Eobar... Eobar?"

"Eobard," he corrected.

"Eobard," Felicity repeated, stalling for time. "Sorry. It just sounds weird."

"It's funny..." Eobard muttered. "Sometimes we think we're more clever than we are. Because where I come from, the history books are filled with stories about this age of heroes. Green Arrow... Black Canary... the Flash. And yet no one..." He raised his hand, vibrating it, ready to slice through her heart. "No one has ever heard of Felicity Smoak."

His eyes turned red, his voice gravelly, and his hand lowered to Felicity's chest.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned to see Kara stumbled out of a side room and into the Cortex. "Stop," she pleaded again, more breathlessly, leaning against a desk. "You came here for me so just take me, please. Please don't hurt anyone else."

Eobard's hand, centimeters from Felicity's heart, didn't move.

"Give him the code," Kara told Felicity.

"If I do they'll kill you," Felicity murmured, her voice wavering.

"It's fine, nobody's gonna die because of me," Kara replied, voice a little stronger.

"Latte ADA Jonas 19900," Felicity whispered, shoulders slumped.

Eobard released her and typed in the code. The lights flickered on.

Felicity's plan to stop the Nazis had failed.

In another Earth, Team Super's plan had gone a bit off the rails. There was now a cloaked Earth-X Waverider flying somewhere in Earth 1's sky, the Earth-X Red Tornado was going to be doing anything it could to stop them, and yet they still somehow had to make it to the breach area and power everything up.

They had gotten help to escape prison from Earth-X Leonard Snart. This doppelgänger was a good guy, for once, and he and he boyfriend Ray (not Palmer) were assisting them with their probably suicidal attempt to get home.

Barry just hoped it would work, and that once they got to the breach area there was still a Earth 1 to return to.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin positively bored out of her mind. Even Harry and Cisco had stopped arguing and hour ago and left them all in silence. With the silence came her worry. What had happened to Felicity and Iris? Or, even scarier, Barry?

Just as she thought she might go crazy, a voice came from the speakers above. "Attention all prisoners!" said a voice she didn't recognize. "Great news. The calvary has arrived."

" 'Bout time," Renee, AKA Wild Dog AKA a new member of Team Arrow, responded.

"Knew we could count on you, pretty!" Mick proclaimed. "Did you bring beer?"

"Or better yet, an army," Renee added.

You could almost hear the grin in the man's voice when he spoke again. "Who needs an army when you've got Legends?"

He let them all out of the Pipeline one by one. Caitlin let out a deep sigh of relief when the power dampening faded. Killer Frost was starting to get antsy, and she didn't like being controlled.

"Hi," the man said when she stepped out of the cell. "I'm Nate. I don't think we've met before."

"Caitlin Snow," Caitlin introduced herself. "Thanks for saving us."

They regrouped quickly, splitting into sections and joining forces. The Team was back from Earth-X, miraculously all alive and uninjured besides Martin Stein, who had been shot. Caitlin, having rushed down the hallways to try and find Barry, was instead grabbed by Amaya. "Come on!" she called over her shoulder, running down the hall and making sure Caitlin followed. "We need Frost's help!"

They arrived as Metalo smashed through the ceiling. It didn't take much for Caitlin to transform into Frost, and soon a force of at least seven off some of the most powerful heroes imaginable had smashed into the robot.

Between all of them, it didn't take long for Metalo to explode in a fireball and a flying robotic head.

Almost immediately after, Caitlin forced Frost back down and broke into a run. Firestorm lead the way into the Waverider's med bay, where Stein and Jax separated. The professor somehow landed on a medical bed. "Gideon, fix him!" Jax yelled. "Now!"

"His blood pressure's dropping," Caitlin said, her heart rate elevated but her mind clear and focused. This was what she was made for, more than fighting bad guys. "We need to staunch the bleeding."

"Right away, Dr. Snow," Gideon responded, sending a pale blue beam of light over the unconscious Stein.

Mick walked into the room, once hand planted on Stein's shoulder. "Jax, relax," he said gruffly. "The professors going to be fine. He's tough."

Jax didn't seem to have heard. He stumbled away from Stein's bedside and suddenly vomited, blood pouring out of his mouth.

Nate had just come into the room and he caught Jax before he could fall. "Jax was hit!" he yelled, getting Caitlin's attention.

She spun away from the professor, looking towards the scanner.

"I can't find an entry wound," Nate reported.

"Look at their vitals; it must be because of their connection," Caitlin realized.

"What the heck does that mean?!" Mick demanded.

"Even though Jax isn't injured, their life functions must still be linked somehow," she explained, mind racing.

"Then how do we unlink them?"

Dread set in. "We can't," Caitlin said gravely. "Their connection is the only thing keeping the professor alive."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin was trying not to be frazzled, but working with two patients that were both in critical condition could do that to a person, besides the fact that she had yet to see Barry. When she had mentally prepared herself for this week, the only thing she was supposed to have been worried about was if the heat of the beach was going to affect Frost in any way. It had turned out a little bit different.

Jax groaned and moved his head a little. "Hey, Jax," Caitlin said softly. "How're you feeling?"

"Don't worry about me," Jax mumbled. "How's Grey?"

"I have him sedated," Caitlin said, putting a smile on and placing her hand on Jax's shoulder. "Don't worry; Gideon and I are doing everything we can to fix him."

"Okay," Jax whispered, eyes slipping shut again. "Good."

Caitlin turned away, letting her smile drop. She hated giving a patient false news, but in the state Jax was in, hearing the truth wasn't going to help anyone.

Taking one last glance at Stein and Jax's vitals, Caitlin took a second and stepped out of the med lab. Ray was waiting in the hallway, fiddling with his sleeves.

"Still no improvement?" he asked.

"He's getting worse," Caitlin sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was tired. She just wanted all of this to be over.

"Marty? Or Jax?"

"Both," Caitlin told him.

"I just can't believe there's nothing Gideon can do," Ray murmured, looking away.

Caitlin shook her head. "Medically speaking, Professor Stein shouldn't even be alive right now. The only thing that kept him from dying-"

"Jax," Ray finished in a whisper. "Bonding with him."

"Yeah. Jax is basically functioning as a human life support machine. He'll be able to keep the Professor alive but... only for so long."

Ray looked up. "Does Jax know?"

When Caitlin answered, her voice was wobbling. "That he's going to die, too? I didn't know how to tell him." She let out a shaky breath, and Ray took his turn being the strong one.

"He'll be okay," he assured Caitlin. "We've got a whole bunch of smart people on this ship. Somebody's gonna figure out something."

Caitlin didn't think that chances of that were fairly high, but she was willing to try for optimism. "Okay, yeah."

Ray glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, I don't know if you can spare a minute, but I can keep an eye on them for a bit. You look like you need a break... and Barry's waiting in the corridor for you."

Caitlin shut her eyes briefly. "Thank you," she said to Ray. "That would be... thank you."

He nodded and she hurried around him and around the corner.

Barry was leaning against the wall, staring off into space, but he glanced up when she came into view. " _Cait_ ," he breathed, relief evident on his face, running forward and wrapping her in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think I can really answer that right now," Caitlin breathed, pressing her face into his shoulder.

"How are Jax and Martin?" Barry asked, stroking her hair.

"Not good," Caitlin told him, voice wavering. "Jax is pretty much keeping Stein alive, but it's not going to last long. I don't think that there's anything I can do. They're both gonna die, Barry. I don't think I can save them."

He held her tighter, cheek pressed to the top of her head.

In the end, Caitlin couldn't save them.

Sara found Stein's body, a crying Jax standing over it. She was the one who told the others that he was dead, having found a way to break the Firestorm connection and save Jax's life.

Caitlin wandered into the study, feeling numb. Someone (she couldn't even remember who) had told her that Barry was inside. He looked up when she entered, eyes wide with hope, and she shook her head.

He held open his arms wordlessly and she curled into them, almost a ball on his lap. No tears came, but a wrenching ache in her chest told her that grief was still very present.

It was hard, but the broken Team managed to pull itself together and reconvene in main room of the Waverider. Amaya and Zari were the last to arrive, striding in with their amulets and costumes already on.

Caitlin had let Frost take over. It was nice to disappear for awhile, to forget all her feelings and let someone else do the work. She would have liked to know how that battle was going, but she just had to hope that the many Teams of heroes had it under control.

"Where are we with locating the other Waverider?" Oliver asked, Green Arrow hood up.

"We've got a pretty good idea," Curtis said. "I mean, we've all heard of the-"

Zari cut him off before he could start babbling confusingly. "The data indicates it's in the vicinity of Central City."

"It also means that the little girl isn't long for this world," Nate added.

Curtis winced. "Which means the world isn't long for this world."

They were talking about the X-Kara. The heart transplant hadn't happened, and now her death was going to mean an explosion like a nuclear bomb. So not only could they not let her die because it was morally right, they couldn't let her die because otherwise, millions of people would _also_ die.

"Then failure isn't an option," Oliver said firmly. " _Loosing_ is not an option! We are going to win, and we are going to show these people that this Earth belongs to _us_."

Frost raised her eyebrows. She wondered if Barry would consider sharing her with this gorgeous guy every once and awhile. "Great speech," she compliment, smirking.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Queen," Gideon broke in. "But we're being hailed by a fellow Time Ship."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Put it on."

The heroes gathered in front of the main console on the Waverider and watched as an image of Earth-X Oliver Queen flickered into black-and-white view.

"What do you want?" Sara demanded.

"To offer a truce," X-Oliver said.

Barry frowned. "In exchange for what?"

"We return to our Earth, peacefully, if you heed my one command," X-Oliver said. "Supergirl comes with us."

Kara's eyes went wide as half the Team glanced over at her. Oliver shook his head. "There's another difference between you and me," he growled. "I don't abandon my friends!"

With that, he slammed down on a button the console and ended the call.

Sara took a couple steps away from the group and turned around, facing them. "Alright," she said, taking a deep breath. "Everybody ready to go?"

"Never been more," Nate declared.

"We can't bring Marty back," Ray added. "But we can protect the city he loved, and the family he left behind."

For a second, Sara's eyes got very large, and it looked as though she might start to cry.

But then she blinked, and the moment passed. "For the professor. Now let's go kick some butt."

 **Flash!**

The Superheroes were set down by the Waverider and dropped off, before Gideon took the support and tech team back up into the air. Frost grabbed Barry's arm. "Caitlin wants to say good luck, stay safe, and don't die."

"Tell her I love her, okay?" Barry said seriously. "And that I'll see her when this is all over?"

Frost shrugged. "Don't exactly know how to do that but okay."

The Nazis had already started their attack. The brunt of the army began marching toward the heroes on X-Oliver's order, and they stood their ground, preparing for a rough battle.

Then they attacked.

A few heroes broke away, running to protect the civilians caught in the crossfire, and to take out the Nazis attacking all over the city. Guns were fired, arrows were shot, Nazi noses were broken... and still the fight continued.

The Earth-X Waverider was doing the most damage. "We could use a little help there!" Sara growled.

"Got you covered," Felicity replied, striding toward the console. In seconds, the Legend's Waverider was speeding through the air after the enemy ship, firing at it.

Unfortunately, the X-Waverider was covered in shields, and none of the missals were breaking through.

"We need to take down their shields," Felicity said. "We need someone on the ship!"

While Kara took care of X-Supergirl, Frost, Amaya and Zari travelled on a path of ice up to the X-Waverider. "We're on our way!" Frost reported.

They entered through the window X-Supergirl had broken upon her exit, and took out the Nazi guards in seconds.

"We're on the bridge, Felicity!" Zari reported. "But we don't know what we're looking for."

"Yeah yeah yeah, working on it," Felicity mumbled.

"Got it," Iris said. "Sending you the source code for the deflector shields."

Amaya nodded. "Yeah, got it. Manual override protocol."

"If I'm reading this correctly, all you need to do now is-"

Frost interrupted, her eyes catching something across the ship. "Hit the big, blinking red button." She strode toward the controls, and slammed her hand down on the button.

"Got it!" Iris cried. "Shields are down!"

Cisco went to get them off the ship, while down on the ground, Barry was locked in a furious battle with Eobard Thawn.

It ended with Eobard's back against a cement wall, Barry hand raised above his chest, vibrating.

"Go on," Eobard growled. "End it!" Barry did nothing. "END IT!"

Gritting his teeth, Barry lowered his arm.

"What's stoping you?" Eobard asked, intrigued. Then, "Ahh, right, I forgot. Barry Allen is above killing. Isn't that right?"

Barry released him. "Get out of here," he ordered, rage bubbling in his gut.

Eobard stalked off, before turning around a couple paces away. "I wonder what face I'll be wearing the next time we meet?" he asked ominously. "Flash."

"Can't wait," Barry murmured, glaring at him.

Eobard flashed away.

Up in the sky, the X-Waverider had exploded, Cisco arriving back with Frost, Amaya and Zari on the Legends' Waverider just in time. There was now another blinding beam of light up above the fight; X-Supergirl's radiation levels had gotten to high, and she was about to explode.

"What do I do?!" Kara, who was up in the air with her, asked desperately.

"You need to fly her up!" Harry instructed. "Up, and away."

Kara shot off, but they could still see the explosion on Earth when X-Supergirl combusted.

X-Oliver turned away from his fight with the Green Arrow, face masked in anguish. "NOOOOO!" he screamed, falling to his knees.

Oliver grabbed an arrow and loaded it, leveling it at the exposed villains back.

"I'm gonna kill you!" X-Oliver growled, lunging to his feet.

Before the Team had been trapped in Earth-X, Oliver had threatened to kill X-Oliver. The Nazi leader had thought Oliver was too weak; too much of a hero.

It was time Oliver proved him wrong.

He fired.

X-Oliver sank back, an arrow buried in his chest, dead.

And just like that, the fight was over. Kara came hurtling down from space, knocked back by the landed with an explosion of dust, but when it cleared, Kara wasn't lying dead on the ground.

She was in the arms of Nate. "What?" Kara gasped, confused and a little uncomfortable by the close contact. "How did you-?"

"I figured it would take the Man of Steel to catch the Girl of Steel," Nate shrugged, winking. "Either that or... a tremendous amount of help."

Glancing around, they saw hundreds of dead or unconscious Nazis lying on the ground. But the heroes were still standing.

They had won.

 **Flash!**

It rained the morning of Stein's funeral.

When the Team had gotten back to STAR Labs to regroup, they had been subdued. They had won, but they had lost so much along the way. Loosing the Professor was a rough blow to them all, even those who hadn't known him as well.

Frost had finally faded from Caitlin. She was tired, even though it hadn't felt like _she_ had spent the last hour and a half fighting her butt off.

None of them really slept that night. They sat scattered around STAR Labs, staring off into space with cups of tea and coffee held loosely in their hands. Caitlin dropped off for about an hour, curled up against Barry on one of the gurneys. Oliver and Felicity were in the other gurney, and Oliver's eyes were shut. Felicity was next to him, one hand wrapped around his and her other running through his hair.

The sky cleared up by 11, which was when Stein's funeral started. There was hazy sunlight streaming through the clouds, and water droplets sparkled on the leaves of the trees in the graveyard.

"Clarissa asked me to say some words," Jax started. He seemed nervous and a little awkward standing on the opposite side of the Professor's grave. Caitlin couldn't even imagine what he was going through at the moment. "But as you all know," Jax continued. "Grey was the wordy one. I got used to hearing his voice inside my head, and, uh, even now... I can still hear him. 'Cause even though he's gone... he's still apart of me. He's still apart of all of us. He was the best man... right until the end. The best teacher... friend... husband... father..."

Jax voice wavered, eyes filling with tears as he walked forward, toward Clarissa a Lily. "Clarissa... I'm so, so sorry.. I couldn't save him, I- All he wanted was to come home. To you. To his family."

Jax broke off, head dropping. "Oh, Jefferson," Clarissa whispered, putting her hand on his cheek as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You were his family, too."

"I just..." Jax sniffled. "I don't know how to do any of this without him."

"Then don't," Lily spoke up. Her son, Ronnie, was cradled in her arms but she reached out one hand and squeezed Jax's. "You said it yourself: he's still apart of you."

Jax nodded, wiping at his eyes, and Clarissa stepped up to the grave. "Goodbye, my love," she whispered, throwing a shovelful of dirt on top of the coffin.

Sara went next. "Thank you for believing in me," she murmured.

"Tell Ronnie I miss him," Caitlin whispered, her eyes red, taking the shovel and throwing in her own bit of dirt.

Barry took the shovel from her. "Thank you for bringing me home," he said softly. Then he took his spot next to Caitlin, an arm around her shoulders.

After the funeral, everyone started to disperse. There were cities to go back to, bad guys to fight... heroes could never stick around for long.

"Thank you for coming," Barry said, both he and Caitlin giving Kara and Alex goodbye hugs. "Even though the wedding part was a bust, we couldn't have saved Earth without you two."

"Well, we'll be back for the do-over," Alex said with a smile.

Barry glanced down at Caitlin, his hand wrapped in hers. "Yeah, Caitlin and I have talked about it..."

"We're just going to get ourselves a justice of the peace and get it done, quick and simple," Caitlin finished. "We definitely want it to be official."

Kara and Alex smiled. "We should be heading back to our Earth," Kara excused them. "Call me if you need help saving the world again!"

She and Alex walked off, leaving Barry and Caitlin and Oliver and Felicity alone on the park grounds they had moved into after the funeral.

"You know, if you want it to be personal," Felicity mentioned, tucked into Oliver's side. "I think we know a guy who's ordained."

No less than five seconds later, John Diggle was standing in front of the four of them. He gave everyone surprised looks, then grinned at Barry. "Good thing I didn't vomit this time-"

Abruptly he turned around and threw up.

"You okay?" Felicity called, head turned away from the sight.

"Yeah, yeah," Diggle groaned, straightening up. "A little warning, next time?"

"Sorry," Barry winced.

"So... what's up?"

"You got ordained to marry your brother and Carly, right?" Felicity asked.

Diggle nodded, and Caitlin gave him a hopeful smile. "We were hoping that you could give us the same treatment?"

"Wow, really?" Diggle nodded, seeming impressed. "Okay. I'm honored."

"Yeah?" Barry was surprised at the turn of events. It seemed that he and Caitlin wouldn't have to wait any longer to finally be married. "Well then... let's do it."

"Okay!" Diggle grinned. "That's great." He turned to Oliver and Felicity. "I guess that makes you the Best Man and you the Maid of Honor?"

"Honored is correct," Oliver agreed and Felicity gasped lightly in excitement and sent Caitlin a grin.

"Alright, let's get into position!" Diggle moved them around so Barry and Caitlin were standing across from each other in front of them, with Oliver and Felicity on their respective sides. Felicity reached out and squeezed Caitlin's hand, giggling.

"Did you guys write vows are do you want the pre-written?" Diggle asked.

"Oh!" Caitlin reached into her pocket. "Uh, yeah. Yes. I wrote mine."

"I tried to write mine," Barry admitted. "But then I realized that I had too much to say and, you know, couldn't fit 42 pieces of paper into my pocket."

Caitlin laughed. "I'll look forward to reading those someday."

Barry nodded, looking a little nervous. "I guess I'll just try to do it off the cuff. Uh... my entire life has been marked by one thing. Change. From when I was a kid to when I was an adult, things were always changing. But then, when my life changed the most drastically, I found the one thing my life _became_. And that's you. You were always there. As my friend, and as my partner. As my doctor and my confidant and my strength and... the love of my life. You're my home, Cait. And that's one thing that will never change."

Caitlin sniffed, blinking a couple of times and glancing at the ground. "That was really nice," she said, voice catching a little. "I really should have learned to not let you go first on these things."

Barry laughed, eyes sparkling as he reached forward to squeeze her hand.

"I used to hate Christmas," Caitlin started. "My father passed away around that time and all it brought up for me was bad memories. The first Christmas after I met Barry, only a few weeks after we had started dating... all of that changed. I went to Joe's house, and we gave each other gifts after everyone had gone home and fell asleep on the couch together. Now, looking at Christmas, all I can see is the love and happiness that Barry brought me."

'And it's not just Christmas. In every area of my life, Barry Allen has somehow affected it. He's managed to make me better, in the way I think and act and love and live my life, and I don't think he's ever going to stop. And I am... so happy, and _excited_ ," Caitlin's voice wobbled, tears building in her eyes. "And so very, _very_ blessed to become your wife."

"Well," Diggle said after there was a moment of silence while he made sure that they were both done. He spread his arms, one on either side of Barry and Caitlin. "I pronounce you-"

"Wait!" Felicity cried. "Wait. Wait just _one_ second."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows, surprised. Barry shifted awkwardly.

"Um," Felicity said. "If you guys don't mind, well," she spun to Oliver, "if _you_ don't mind, really, but, uh, would you marry us, too? Would you marry me?"

Oliver looked slightly shellshocked. "I thought... I mean, I thought you didn't believe in marriage."

"No, but I believe in you," Felicity murmured. "And I believe that no matter what our life throws at us, we can conquer it. Married... unmarried... I love you. And my greatest fear... my greatest fear in life is losing you."

"Yes," Oliver said simply.

"Okay?"

" _Yeah_ ," he agreed, reaching forward and taking her hand. Caitlin exchanged a look with Barry, grinning incredulously. Oliver turned to Diggle. "Uh, John, what do you say?"

"Are you kidding me, Oliver?" Diggle replied, arms crossed. "I'm the guy who, for the last six years, has been trying to keep you two together. It seems fitting I get to marry you." He took a breath. "Okay. Vows?"

"No," Oliver shook his head, Felicity mirroring the statement. "We can't do better than them."

"I mean, we kinda did those fake-vows when we did that fake-wedding with that serial killer psychopath..." Felicity put in.

Oliver smiled. "I remember saying something along the lines of... you're the very best part of me. Felicity, I'm a better human being... just because I've loved you."

Felicity was practically glowing, looking happier than Caitlin had seen her look in a very long time.

"Well," Diggle said. "Since we don't have any rings, I'll skip right to the part where I say this: Oliver Jonas Queen, Felicity Megan Smoak, Bartholomew Henry Allen, Caitlin Danielle Snow..." Barry reached down, taking Caitlin's hands. For one second, her eyes flickered blue, and Frost sent him a wink.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your brides."

The brides kissed them.

 **Author's Note: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

 **EXACTLY HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY?! VERY LONG! VERY LONG! THEY ARE MARRIED! OMGOMGOMG!**

 **Okay, two things. One: I kind of rewrote Barry's vows and I completely rewrote Caitlin's... hope they turned out okay. Two: I have no idea of Caitlin's middle name so I just used Danielle. Please let me know if you know of another middle name that is actually correct :D**


	9. 4x09

**Author's Note: Heeeeey it's #2 on my "most anticipated episodes" list!**

It had only been about a week after Caitlin and Barry got back from their very warm, very lovely honeymoon when Barry was called away on a business trip.

"You _never_ go on business trips," Caitlin said, appalled, when he told her the news.

"I know," Barry groaned. "And I hate to go so soon after we got married. But they apparently need my 'forensic expertise' out of town."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" Caitlin said encouragingly. "They must think you're good if they're sending you off to help somewhere else."

"Yeah," Barry agreed, shrugging. "I guess so. It'll only be a few days, though. Frost and Cisco can take care of the superhero-ing, and if need be you guys can call Wally."

"Of course." Caitlin pecked his cheek. "We'll be fine; don't worry."

Even though she had put on a supportive front, Caitlin missed Barry. It was the longest they had been apart since he disappeared into the Speed Force, and it was weird to walk into STAR Labs and fight metahumans without him there.

It was almost Christmas. Barry was due to come home the day after tomorrow, and Cisco, Harry and Ralph were busy decorating the Cortex.

"What are you doing?" Harry demanded, wearing a lopsided Santa hat and holding the end of Cisco's decorations.

"Tinsel," Cisco told him, giving him a strange look before continuing to wrap the fluffy silver object around the oddly blue true.

"Your tinsel to surface ratio is _terrible_ ," Harry criticized.

"Are you kidding me?" Cisco demanded. "I've done extensive research to make sure that this tinsel is properly proportioned for this tree!"

"It's terrible."

"It's terrible? I'll tell you what's terrible. Your scrooge to grinch ratio is terrible."

"Well you know what?!" Harry said, tugging the tinsel off of the tree. "I wouldn't touch you with a 39 and a half foot pole!"

Caitlin walked into the room, a headband with a much smaller Santa hat than Harry's tucked behind her ears. "Hey, Cisco," she called, interrupting Harry and Cisco's brewing argument. "Where's Gypsy?"

"She had the holiday shift," Cisco sighed. He had planned to have his girlfriend stay over for a few nights and join everyone at the Annual West Christmas Party, but she hadn't been able to come. "But! I think I got her the perfect gift. A gulag class mech knife, forged in the unholy blood fires of Earth 22 by none other than Wireless 2.9. Of course..." Cisco tugged out his phone, looking at it curiously. "Gypsy should have sent something for me by now..."

Harry grimaced. "Awkward," he mumbled, before taking another bit of tinsel off the tree. "I'm sure it's fine."

Ralph walked into the room. "Uh... did Rudolph just diarrhea all over your tree?"

"Oh, great," Cisco said sarcastically. "Two humbugs. It's a Festive Miracle."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Ralphie loves Christmas," Ralph shrugged, walking over to observe the other side of the tree. "I bring it in every year with my Nana. She never remembers me, but I'm getting that inheritance."

Cisco gave him a disgusted look. "You... you are just... incorrect."

"Well, if you don't want to spend Christmas conning your grandma, you're more than welcome to join your friends at the West family... party.." Caitlin trailed off awkwardly as Harry ran a light hand under his jaw, symbolizing that she should stop talking.

"That sounds like a snooze-fest," Ralph groaned. "Unless, of course, they're serving _bacon soda!_ " He threw out his arms and made a ridiculous voice, which Harry and Cisco immediately mirrored.

"Bacon soda!" they cried, before laughing.

Caitlin shifted awkwardly. "Uh, what- sorry, what's that about?"

"Well, it's uh, a bit of an inside joke," Harry deflected. "Actually... concerning Killer Frost."

"Classic Killer Frost," Cisco agreed, grinning.

Caitlin vaguely felt like she had been punched in the stomach. "You guys were.. hanging out with Killer Frost?"

Both Cisco and Harry stopped their tree-decorating and turned to face her. All three of them nodded.

Caitlin swallowed back her jealousy as best she could, her voice still a little bitter when she muttered, "Hope you had a great time."

"Oh, we had the best time," Ralph stated, completely oblivious to her discomfort. "I mean, you're great Snow-Cone, but my girl Frostbite.. ay yi yi!"

Harry and Cisco both snapped at him to be quiet, but the damage was already done.

"Hey, I'm... going to go get a cup of coffee," Caitlin mumbled, before turning and hurrying out of the Cortex, ignoring Cisco and Harry's calls behind her.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin's first thought was that she needed to talk to her husband.

She had tried to avoid FaceTiming him or calling him for the duration of his trip, not wanting to be bothersome or get in the way of his work, but now she just needed to see a familiar, loving, non-Frost-obsessed face.

He picked up on the first ring, the feed of his face coming in a little bit blotchy. "Caitlin!" he cried, seeming overjoyed to see her.

"Hi, Barry," Caitlin said, shoulders relaxing at his smile. "Is this a good time?"

"Yeah, yeah, this is a great time," Barry reassured her, before calling over his shoulder. "Joe, I'm taking five!"

"Tell Caitlin I say hi!" she heard Joe call back, and she smiled.

"Joe says hi," Barry reported as he walked through a orderly stone building and outside into the sunlight. "So what's up?"

"Oh, you know," Caitlin shrugged, not exactly wanting to bring up what had happened in the Cortex. "The usual. I just missed you."

He studied her face. "You seem upset. What happened?"

Caitlin glanced down, swirling a candy cane around her coffee mug. She sighed. "Cisco and Harry and Ralph were all just talking about Frost in the Cortex," she told him.

"Were they saying bad things about her?" Barry asked, seeming surprised.

"The opposite," Caitlin said. "They brought up this random thing about bacon soda, and when I asked what it was about Harry said it was inside joke with Frost. Apparently they've been hanging out, and of course, because it's her, I can't remember a thing that's happened." She sighed. "I know, it's stupid. I should be happy that they're accepting her. But I can't help but feel excluded by someone who's living in the same body as me."

Barry tilted his head, brow furrowing in concern. "I'm so sorry, Cait," he sighed. "I wish I could be there."

Caitlin felt an uncomfortable tightening in her throat. "Me too," she muttered, voice a little strained. "But you'll be back the day after tomorrow, right?"

Barry nodded. "If I have to, I'll run home to you."

That brought a small smile to her face, knowing how legitimate that offer actually was, and after a couple of minutes they said their goodbyes and hung up.

Caitlin sat, swirling her candy cane around her drink and occasionally sucking on it, when a familiar figure slid into the seat across from her.

"Dark roast... light roast..." Harry listed. "What are you having- self-pity roast?"

Caitlin huffed out a laugh. "I wish," she said, gesturing to the small card on the side of her table. It was a dark blue and showed a picture of a coffee very similar to the one Caitlin was having. The words _Killer Frost_ spiraled across the top in snowy white calligraphy.

"The Killer Frost," Harry chuckled, shaking his head.

"I finally get a drink," Caitlin sighed. "Woo hoo."

Harry was silent, and Caitlin took that as a sign that she was okay to continue and rant a little bit. "I'm thrilled that she helped everyone fight the Earth-X Men, but now it's like I can't escape her. Everybody keeps saying 'Killer Frost is so funny', 'Killer Frost is so badass'. I spent so long worried that she was going to hurt people but now it turns out that people would rather hang out with my villainous alter-ego."

Harry sighed, his mouth screwed up to the side. "Look, I get it. I know what it's like to have the evil doppelgänger, but... you're not like me. No, Snow, you're different. You're... special."

Caitlin tilted her head, considering his words.

"And," Harry continued. "Your friends would much rather be with you than with her."

"Thanks, Harry," Caitlin said, smiling at him.

"You're welco-"

The rest of his words were cut off with the terrific crash of shattering glass. Caitlin and Harry both looked on in shock as the entire front doors and windows of Jitters caved in.

When the flying shards of glass settled, a figure stepped into the room. She was dressed all in black leather, and wearing a dark red Santa hat.

"Ho, ho, ho," Amunet Black mumbled. She stepped further into Jitters, patrons steaming out of the now open space where the storefront had once been. "Caity!" she called in a singsong voice, looking around.

"It's Amunet," Caitlin told Harry, shocked.

He had never met the woman before, but he did know what she had done to Caitlin. "Hide," he ordered, standing up and pulling out his gun. "Hide. Hide!"

Amunet strode forward and grabbed hold of his gun hand with a metal encased fist, knocking him out with his own weapon before dropping the crushed gun to the ground.

Caitlin had taken cover behind a decorated Christmas tree, but when Harry went down she stepped out and held out her hands. Today was _not_ the day she wanted to transform, but she allowed her hair to turn white and Frost to take over as Amunet approached.

Before the transformation could complete, however, Amunet had spun her around, grabbed her wrist, and slapped a power-dampening cuff to it. "Frosty melted away," Amunet crooned. "I've come for you, Caity."

In another city, Joe was watching with horror as a DeVoe, seating in a flying black chair, grabbed Barry in long metal arms and stabbed something glowing, blue and electrical into his neck.

Then the chair rose and both of them were gone.

Just like that, both the Snow-Allens had been kidnapped.

 **Flash!**

Everyone in the Cortex was surprised to see Joe West striding through the door. "DeVoe," he said, his voice low and concerned. "He attacked us in the street. He took Barry."

"What?!" Cisco gasped, and it was then that Joe realized they all already looked grim. Harry was sitting at Iris' desk, an icepack to his head. "Are you kidding me?!"

"What happened here?" Joe demanded, staring at Harry.

"Amunet Black abducted Caitlin," Iris filled him in, her tone grave.

"Two people missing at the same time," Ralph added. "That's quite a coinkidink."

"Yeah. Great observation, Captain Obvious," Cisco snapped.

"We can set the satellite to look for Caitlin's criokinetic energy or Barry's speed force signatures," Harry said.

"No, no," Iris muttered. "We've got to look for both of them. Cisco, I need you to vibe Barry. We need to know that he's alive."

Cisco looked unsure, but as Iris' eyes bore into him he pressed his fingers to his temples and concentrated.

A second later he was being tossed against the room by an invisible force, smashing into a rolling table and the Christmas tree. Iris flew over to him, hand on his chest. "Hey!" she gasped. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Cisco winced, rubbing his forehead, eyes shut tightly. "Just not gonna be vibing against for awhile."

"What about Allen?" Harry demanded.

"Wherever he is... I've never experience anything like it," Cisco murmured.

That, of course, told them absolutely nothing. They were back to square one.

 **Flash!**

Barry woke up inside a strange, dark room with hazy, flickering blue lights. He pushed himself quickly to his feet, his cowl already off and revealing his face, much to his concern. There was a table with a computer set up in a little to his front-left, and a few other objects in the room, but it was devoid of humans as far as he could see.

"Hello?" Barry called. No one answered and he turned around, taking a slow step away from the computers.

His face it a solid wall and Barry jumped back, cheek feeling burned. The air in front of him rippled with some sort of red and yellow energy field before disappearing into nothing again.

Barry reached out on his other side and his hand was shocked, the same energy appearing, before it vanished and all was clear.

It seemed that he was in some sort of invisible cage created with energy. He was completely surrounded on all sides.

Trapped.

He tried breaking out of the cage for nearly a half hour to no avail. Even using super speed and phasing through it didn't work. Using his speed, he could light up almost the entire perimeter of his tiny space, but then it all faded into nothingness a couple seconds later.

Barry went down into a crouch, breathing heavily. Then a voice made him turn.

"Hello, Mr. Allen," Clifford DeVoe greeted. He was once again flying in his strange chair, tubes and wires connected to his head like many antennas.

"Wow," Barry said. "What an entrance. So where are we? Is this your sanctuary?"

"What gave that away?" DeVoe asked sarcastically.

"DeVoe, if you wanted to kill me, you could have just electrocuted me on the street," Barry said flatly. "So, I'm here for a reason."

"Yes, Mr. Allen," DeVoe agreed. "So that I may teach you. I am, after all, first and foremost a teacher."

Barry let out an incredulous laugh. "Alright," he allowed. "Fine. Teach me. But first I want to make sure I'm all caught up. You sent your... Samaroid after me. You arranged to pull me out of the Speed Force. You made sure that we turned all those people on that bus into metahumans. Why?"

"You see, the finer points of my agenda are not upon todays syllabus," DeVoe replied evenly.

"Oh, come on," Barry sighed. "You can squeeze it in. I'm a fast learner."

"Please," DeVoe answered. "You're about as capable of seeing the breadth of my machinations as an infant mastering multi-variable physics."

Barry let out a dry laugh. That was a burn of a whole new level.

"The lesson I have prepared for today is much more simple," DeVoe continued. "Life 101. There are no happy endings."

The cocky smile fell off of Barry's face. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Ah," DeVoe said. "We have a guest."

When Barry turned, the computers were showing an image of the DeVoes' front porch.

On it stood Joe West.

 **Flash!**

Meanwhile, Caitlin had been blindfolded and dragged to Amunet's newest secret lair.

"Here we are," Amunet announced, leading Caitlin into a dimly lit, starkly decorated building made mostly of cement.

Caitlin glanced around. "You're really moving up in the world," she commented sarcastically.

"You know," Amunet huffed. "A sprinkle of enthusiasm would not kill you."

Caitlin wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. Barry was due to get home in less than 48 hours. She did _not_ want to be here at the moment. "Listen, Amunet, whatever you have planned, I guarantee you Killer Frost wants _nothing_ to do with it."

"That's right, darling, but I don't need her," Amunet said. "I need you."

She strode towards a grungy white curtain hiding a section of the room and tugged it open, revealing a medical gurney. Caitlin stepped closer. There was a lying on the bed, his head wrapped in white gauze and his eyes closed. "Meet your patient," Amunet introduced.

"What've you done?" Caitlin demanded, striding forward and toward the man.

"Oh, there's not need to be overdramatic; he's alive," Amunet tutted. "And I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you just as soon as that... tranquilizer wears off."

"Why do you have him?" Caitlin asked, brow furrowing. "What is he to you?"

"My Golden Goose..." Amunet sighed dreamily. "See, Dominic here is a new meta that I... _found_. And I'd intended on selling him but unfortunately he didn't want to go so gently into the good night. And, um..." She lifted up a piece of the gauze with fingers and Caitlin inhaled sharply through her teeth. There was a nasty looking piece of metal lodged in Dominic's skin, right under his ear.

"Well, I shot him," Amunet admitted.

"That is-"

"In desperate need of medical attention; I know," Amunet finished. "And now you know why I need you, Caity MD."

Caitlin gave her a shocked look. "You're talking about an intricate cranial forebody retraction _at best_ , and at worst that's a-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Amunet interrupted, holding up a finger. "Because I have absolutely no idea what you're saying. But you see? It does not matter, because I knew that _you_ would understand what needed to happen." She shrugged, problem solved.

But Caitlin shook her head. "Amunet, I won't. I can't. The environment isn't sterilized; the equipment is _ancient_..."

Amunet leaned forward, peering at the wound. "I suppose I could just yank it out myself."

"And risk him bleeding out and a dozen other brain deficits," Caitlin countered.

"Right," Amunet agreed. "Good point." She straightened up and held out her metal-encased fist. "Well, there's only one way to find out."

Caitlin dove in front of Dominic. "No! No." She let out a deep sigh, knowing if there was any chance of Dominic surviving, she would have to attempt the operation. "I'll do what I can."

"Excellent!" Amunet said, turning and clicking toward the door. She grabbed her coffee and then stopped, turning back around. "Oh, I almost forgot. Should he die... you die as well."

Then she left the room.

As she waited for Dominic to wake up, Caitlin took a look around. "Well..." she sighed out loud to herself. "It's not exactly STAR Labs."

There was a rustling from behind her and Caitlin turned, instinctively taking a step back as Dominic groaned and sat up. "Who are you?" he asked, eyes wide like a caged animal.

"My name is Caitlin Snow," Caitlin introduced herself, trying to seem as harmless as possible. "And your at St. Andrew's Hospital. At least... I think that's where we are; it's been closed down for awhile."

"Please," Dominic begged. "You have to help me get out of here."

"Easier said than done," Caitlin sighed.

"The blond lady? She took you too?"

Caitlin nodded.

"God, I don't understand why this is happening to us," Dominic mumbled, his eyes filling. Caitlin wasn't sure if it was from pain or fear.

"Dominic, do you know what a metahuman is?" Caitlin asked gently.

"Listen- I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't rob a bank or-"

"No, I know," Caitlin assured him. "People with abilities... people like you... they're a commodity, especially to-"

"Especially to Amunet," Dominic finished, and Caitlin stopped.

"Yeah.." she said cautiously. "Listen, I'm going to be honest with you. It would be very difficult to fix what she did to you, even in the best of circumstances with the right equipment."

"I feel fine," Dominic argued. "My head doesn't even hurt."

"Which is a minor miracle," Caitlin said. "But if that shard were to fracture..."

"It would cause permanent motor skills impairment or brain deficits."

Once again, Caitlin paused. "How did you..." Then the pieces clicked, and she looked at him in wonder. "You have telepathic abilities. Can you here what I'm thinking right now?"

"When did I get my powers?" Dominic guessed, and Caitlin nodded, intrigued. "A couple months ago. Uh... I took the bus to my job at the airport. TSA. When we got there it was like... everyone was yelling at me, screaming mad. But mouths weren't moving. It only works when I'm close enough to see someone."

Caitlin nodded again, and Dominic sent her a sideways glance. "You don't think we're getting out of here?"

She let out a sigh. There was no point in hiding something from a man who could read her mind. "I'm gonna do everything I can to fix you but... I can't get you away from here." She glanced toward the door, where a couple of guards were hovering. "Not on my own."

"Caitlin," Dominic said seriously, and she looked back to him. "I'm scared, too."

 **Flash!**

While Joe and Harry interrogated DeVoe, Barry was greeted by his wife, Marlize.

"You don't have to do this," Barry told her. He had no hope that he would get anywhere in convincing DeVoe to release him, but Marlize might be another story. "Whatever he has planned, you don't have to help him?"

"A helper?" Marlize asked, eyebrows raising. "Is that what you think I am? A mindless minion carrying out a master's bidding. Some sort of... evil secretary?"

Barry shook his head, annoyed. "You tell me."

"No, Mr. Allen," Marlize told him stiffly. "I am now, and forever will be, my husbands _partner_."

"I understand that," Barry murmured. "You're not the only one who promised to stand by your loved one for better or for worse." He tugged off his gloves and held up his left hand, his ring, as always, on his finger. "In sickness... and in health. If you go down this path with DeVoe, can't you see that you risk sacrificing everything that you have together? You're entire marriage-"

"You're missing the point," Marlize growled, her eyes flashing as she turned around and strode toward him. "I _am_ willing to sacrifice everything for my marriage. I'd ask if you could do the same but there's not need. My husband already knows. His body may be human, but his brain is smarter than yours."

She glared him down for a moment before turning back around and walking away.

 **Flash!**

The only thing Caitlin could think to do was break the power dampening cuff. She had explained to Dominic about Frost and how, if she could get the cuff off, Frost could save them.

As she struggled with the cuff, Dominic gave her a quizzical look. "Who's Barry?"

Caitlin paused, the screwdriver she was using to attempt to get her cuff off falling to her side.

"He's on your mind a lot," Dominic elaborated quickly, noticing her expression. "Almost as much as Killer Frost."

Caitlin sighed, turning around to give Dominic her attention. "He's my husband," she explained, the words rolling off her tongue with delightful ease.

Dominic's eyebrows went up. "Oh!" he said. "Does he know about your powers?"

"Yes. He has some, too," Caitlin told him, deciding not to elaborate.

"Then he can come save us!"

Caitlin shook her head. "He could, but... well, he doesn't know where we are. And besides that, he's on a business trip out of the city. I think we're on our own." She paused, looking at Dominic. "I'm going to be honest with you. It's too risky to preform this surgery here, and I don't have any powers to save us." A thought suddenly struck her and Caitlin started to smile. "But you do."

In just a few seconds Caitlin had slid the curtains across the bed, blocking the door-guards view of them. She and Dominic ran around the corner and towards the hallway.

"Come on," Caitlin whispered, running down a shot flight of steps and turning the corner into another corridor.

"No, Caitlin, get back!" Dominic hissed, and they pressed themselves against the wall just as two of Amunet's men rounded the corner.

They dove into a side room just in time to avoid getting seen, and as soon as the guards passed they were on the move again.

Caitlin could see the end of the hall. They were almost there when a wall of interlacing metal pieces sprung up in front of them. Filled with dread, Caitlin and Dominic slowly turned around.

"Somebody's made my naughty list," Amunet Black growled.

 **Flash!**

After a strangely comforting and also alarming talk with Amunet about her past, Frost's powers, and Caitlin's remarkableness as herself and as a doctor, the stirrings of a plan began to develop in Caitlin's brain.

She had managed to rig an x-ray machine from some equipment from the basement, and she believed that she could preform the surgery on Dominic _and_ get them both out of there. Caitlin called in Amunet and a couple of her guards and had them stand back, wrapping a mask over her mouth and nose and pressing a breathing tube to Dominic's face.

"Now, I'm going to need you to hold still," Caitlin said as she flicked on her impromptu x-ray machine, showing and image of Dominic's collarbone, head, and neck. "You're going to feel some pressure," Caitlin told him, reaching for a pair of tweezers. Her eyes on the x-ray, she began to carefully remove the bullet. "Extracting the foreign object..." she murmured, hands steady and eyes concentrated.

And then it was out.

"Foreign object extracted," Caitlin reported, triumphant. "Applying some surgical glue."

The heart monitor began to beep rapidly. "He's going into shock," Caitlin said, glancing back and forth.

"So, unshock him!" Amunet ordered.

"I can't," Caitlin said, starting to press her hands against Dominic's chest.

He flatlined, and the metal shards in Amunet's bag began to rattle. "I need to hear a beep beep beep or Dominic won't be the only flatliner in the room."

The two guards collapsed, and Caitlin stopped pumping on Dominic's chest. Amunet got a odd look on her face. "Oh," she murmured, tilting to the side. "Oh, you're good."

Then she crumpled to the ground, having inhaled too much of the steadily leaking knockout gas Caitlin had been spraying into the room.

Almost immediately, Caitlin plugged the gas tube back in and Dominic sat up. He unstrapped the mask from around his head and Caitlin took off her medical coverup. "They're out cold," Dominic said, amazed.

"40PSI of ventilation anesthetic- that'll keep them out, but not for long," Caitlin told him. "Let's go."

They began to sprint down the hallway, up the short flight up stairs, and into the street. Caitlin was relieved when they got outside, the frigid night air hitting her like a slap in the face. This was the kind of weather Frost enjoyed, but anything was better than the stuffy, dusty air of the abandoned hospital

They kept running, and a second later Dominic yelled, "Caitlin!" and forced her to the ground. Not a moment too soon- Three shards off metal spat over their heads and imbedded themselves in the parked truck in front of them.

"Darn it!" Amunet said, her gaze dark. "I was aiming for your head."

She shot out her fist, and with nowhere to go, Dominic and Caitlin could only flinch backwards as more metal shards came spinning towards them.

Caitlin winced, shut her eyes, and waited for death. Instead, none other than Ralph Dibney stretched himself in front of them. The metal struck him in the chest and then quickly popped out. "So pointy!" Ralph grunted. "That is _not_ very nice, lady."

Enraged, Amunet lifted her arm again. This time, she didn't even have time to fire- a stream of blue vibe knocking her backwards and to the ground. "Are you a time traveler?" he quipped. " 'Cause those white girl dreads came _straight_ from the 90s."

Amunet glowered at him but didn't try to get up again. Cisco quickly opened a breach and Caitlin, Dominic, Ralph and Cisco all hopped through. In seconds, they were at STAR Labs.

Safe.

 **Flash!**

Barry, on the other hand, didn't have the help of his friends to escape. He had managed to trick DeVoe into releasing his cage by vibrating so fast he seemed invisible. But now he was falling from DeVoe's chair, which had suddenly teleported to the middle of the sky, over the city, nothing there to stop him from splatting against the pavement like a bug.

Once again, however, DeVoe didn't seem to want to kill him. The chair had lowered enough for Barry to grab onto the bottom, though he was sure his somewhat-hidden spot wasn't fooling DeVoe.

DeVoe steered his chair and Barry swung haphazardly, smashing into the windows of a building. Glass splintered in his wake, and it was only the suit that kept him from getting cut to pieces.

DeVoe swung lower, forcing Barry to dodge from side to side as cars wizzed toward him. It was like a terrifying, real life video game.

Barry had never been very good at video games. He hoped her faired better now.

With one last attempt to stop The Thinker now, while he had the chance, Barry began to slowly climb up the back of the chair. Before he could reach the top, however, two metal arms with claws attached shot out and faced him, crackling with electricity.

In the couple seconds he was given, Barry did the only thing he could think off:

He phased.

The electric arms went straight through him and smashed into the chair, sending and explosion of smoke and sparks into the air. Barry went flying. He fell, arms windmilling and eyes watering as icy air rushed past his face, screams carried away by the wind.

 _Floatation mode activated_ , said a pleasant voice, and suddenly the entire suit puffed up like a balloon.

He hit the water with a jolt, then bobbed right back up to the surface.

A second later, DeVoe's flaming chair smashed into the water. It didn't resurface.

Barry lay on top of the water, panting. "Life raft was a good call, Cisco," he muttered, before starting to struggle his way toward shore.

 **Flash!**

As soon as Caitlin was found, Cisco switched the trackers over to Barry. Still, Caitlin was outraged.

"How could you do that?!" she yelled, showing an uncharacteristic amount of anger as she glared Iris down. "Come after me instead of him?! You know what DeVoe is capable of! What if he dies?! What if we never find him?!"

"You think it wasn't a hard choice?" Iris cried back. "We couldn't look for both of you. Look, just be glad that you're not dead, okay?"

Caitlin backed down after that, collapsing into Cisco's desk chair and burying her face in her hands. The members of the team (plus Dominic) slowly filtered out. After about an hour of sitting, while her eyes glazed over, following the steady searching radar on the screen in front of her, Cisco came into the room. "Caitlin," he said softly, tentatively. "You should go home. You have an app on your phone- you'll know when the tracker picks up Barry's signal."

Caitlin swallowed, her throat dry. She didn't want to go home- it wasn't as if she was going to be able to sleep or even relax until Barry was home safe, so she honestly didn't see the point- but she didn't have the energy to argue.

Cisco opened up a breach for her and Caitlin stepped through. If everything went well, Barry would be there to run her to work the next morning and she could get her car then.

She found herself in Barry's (and now her) apartment. Three hours later she had taken a shower, gotten herself a glass of wine, and was sitting immobile on the couch. Her eyes were out of focus, lost in thought, and her damp hair leaving wet streaks on her pajama shirt.

Then she heard the sound of speed lightning.

With a gasp, Caitlin jerked around and almost tripped over herself running towards the door. Barry had just phased through the wood, and was slumped against it, one arm held out for her.

She leapt into his arms, the door taking the brunt of her weight. Barry buried his face into her neck, breathing her in as his arms wrapped around her torso. Caitlin wound her wingers into his hair, the warmth of his skin seeping through her thin pajama shirt.

It wasn't just that she had been terrified that she was never going to see him again; that her life had been exchanged for his when the Team had decided to save her instead of him. It had also been over five days since she had seen him without a screen between the two of them.

Barry pulled back, his eyes serious and searching. "Caitlin," he said softly. "What's on your wrist?"

Caitlin slowly retracted the offending arm and looked down at the power dampening cuff that was still stuck on her arm. Cisco definitely could have gotten it off before she left, but she had honestly forgotten it was there.

Her wrist was covered in scratches, ones that must have been caused by her attempts to force the cuff off with the screwdriver. Barry's fingers hovered over her skin. "May I?" he asked, looking at her with such a gentle, tender expression that Caitlin's stomach flip-flopped.

She nodded, wondering what was going through his head. She was sure it seemed like she had put the cuff on to trap Frost in place, hurt by her friends comments a couple of mornings ago. If he only knew...

Barry vibrated his hand, and in seconds the pieces of metal that had once been the cuff were lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Barry asked her. "Why were you wearing that?"

Caitlin let out a slow breath. "A couple of minutes after we stopped FaceTiming at Jitters, Harry came in to talk to me. And a couple minutes after that... Amunet broke into Jitters and kidnapped me."

Barry's eyes went wide.

"You had just gotten kidnapped, too," Caitlin continued. "But I, of course, didn't know that. It's why no one came for you... the satellites could only look for one of our signatures, and Iris chose to look for me."

Her gaze dropped, and she shook her head. "God, Barry, I was _terrified_. If something had happened to you- it would have been because of me."

"Hey, it's okay," Barry breathed, cupping her face, fingers weaving into her hair. "I'm fine and- you're fine?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Caitlin agreed, forehead dropping to his shoulder. "Amunet didn't want to hurt me... and she didn't want Frost. She wanted me to operate on a metahuman named Dominic. He has the ability to read minds."

"Did he make it?"

"Yeah," Caitlin laughed disbelievingly. "The machinery was archaic and the operation was delicate but we both got out alive."

Barry smiled at her wonderingly. Of course it was terrible that she had been kidnapped, but maybe this was just what Caitlin needed to see that she was as remarkable and capable as he knew she was.

Caitlin leaned back again and Barry kissed her. "I missed you," he mumbled against her lips.

"Mhm..." Caitlin agreed, hands creeping under his grey cotton STAR Labs t-shirt. There was something about the way his hair was mussed from super speed and the way his arms looked straining against his shirt that made her feel... tingly. All over.

Barry deepened the kiss, before quickly breaking off to tug off his shirt. Caitlin wound arms around his neck, fingers tangling into his hair. He lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her into their bedroom.

Exhausted as they were, neither of them got that much sleep that night.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin woke up to light streaming through her window. She blinked groggily, confused. It was rare that she forgot to close the curtains before going to bed.

Then she realized that she was covered with nothing but a sheet, Barry's bare arm draped over her equally bare waist.

An uncontrollable grin spread over Caitlin face and she began to giggle hysterically. The noise woke Barry up and he let out a groan, shifting unto his back. "Wus so funny?" he mumbled, voice groggy. Then he smirked. "You certainly weren't laughing last night."

Caitlin laughed harder. "I was when you accidentally started vibrating and went straight through the bed," she reminded him.

Barry turned dark red. "I was excited!"

Once Caitlin's laughter had died down they lay in a soft silence, watching the sunlight move across their bed. "Last night _was_ amazing, though," Caitlin said softly. "I've never done anything like that before."

"Me either," Barry admitted. "I guess I was just waiting for the right woman."

She turned her head, nuzzling the underside of his jaw. Barry pressed a kiss to her forehead... and his phone buzzed.

They both let out deep sighs, and Barry reached for his phone. "It's Cisco," he told her. "He wants us all to meet for a group debrief. I didn't really tell anyone what happened... I just wanted to get home to you."

Caitlin smiled, before stretching slowly. "Mm... I had kind of wanted to sleep in this morning," she admitted, standing up and giving Barry a full view.

He grinned, taking it in. "I love you," he told her genuinely, gaze adoring.

"I love you, too," Caitlin responded, just as lovingly. "Now, let's get ready before Cisco vibes into this room and finds us like... this."

That got Barry moving fast enough.

 **Flash!**

Somehow, in the heat of the night before, Caitlin had managed to forget that the next day was Christmas Eve. She was forcefully reminded, however, when Joe ended the Team debrief with a, "Everyone still coming to the party tonight?"

There were murmurers of agreement from around the room. Cisco nodded at Caitlin. "Hey, you should invite Dominic!"

Caitlin smiled. "Yeah, maybe I should. It might be a good time to talk to him about his powers, and what he plans to do with them."

Later that afternoon, Barry and Caitlin went home to get ready, and he flashed them to the West's house.

They arrived at around the same time as the rest of the Team, and walked inside to find an explosion of decorations and none other than Ralph Dibney standing with a Santa suit on.

"What the-?" Joe broke off, staring around in shock.

"Ho ho ho!" Ralph laughed. "Wait-" He turned sideways and stretched out his stomach. "Like a bowl full of jelly."

"Ralph, what is all this?" Barry asked with a smile, taking off his coat and placing it over the back of the couch before helping Caitlin with hers.

"Well, Joe said he didn't have any time to decorate, and I wanted to do something nice for... my friends," Ralph explained, nodding a few times. "I realize that I don't usually say or do the right things, and I just wanted to say... I'm sorry."

"Well, you- you went all out, Ralph," Iris said. "Thanks."

"Yeah, this looks great, man!" Barry agreed. "Thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it," Ralph said, smiling happily. "And, uh, Caitlin," he added as people began to filter into the house. "Uh... It was wrong of me to say that Killer Frost is better than you. Because, the truth is... no one is better than you."

Caitlin smiled at the sweet comment. "Thank you. And, I know. I'm the one who saved the day this time." She sent him another smile, and then followed her husband into the dinning area.

After Cisco accidentally opened up a message cube from Gypsy (he had thought it was a breakup cube but quickly found out that Gypsy was _not_ looking to break up with him tonight) and he hurried to compose himself, Dominic arrived. Caitlin introduced him to the rest of the team and Dominic glanced around a little awkwardly. "This house is..."

"Bitchin'?" Cisco suggested.

"Festive," Dominic finished slowly, giving him an odd look.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Ralph grinned. "But who the heck are you again?"

Cisco gave him a weird look. "He's the guy you just helped save."

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed. "The meta who can read your mind?"

Dominic smiled and glanced across the room. "And... that must be Barry?"

Barry glanced up, eyebrows raised. "Um, yes, that's me. Hello."

"She... thinks about you a lot," Dominic explained, nodding at Caitlin. "And I _may_ have read her mind a couple times when she was helping me escape."

"Oh!" Barry looked pleased. Then he winked at Caitlin. "Well, might not want to do too much of that tonight."

Caitlin turned red. There was an awkward silence in the room. Cisco sighed. "I'm not even gonna ask," he muttered.

"Anyway," Dominic said. "I'm not really here to fight crime or anything... more just brainstorm ideas about my powers."

Cisco lifted his mug. "Aha! I christen thee Brainstorm."

"Oh, come on, man!" Ralph complained, pouting. "I've been here for months and I don't have a name yet."

Caitlin shook her head and moved away from the three of them, sitting down on the couch and looking expectantly at Barry until he got up and joined her. "This is our spot," she whispered, snuggling into his side. "I'm glad you're back."

"I'm glad I'm back, too," Barry smiled, kissing the top of her head. "No more business trips for awhile."

That was before the alarm at their loft went off, and Barry ran off to check up on it. That was before he found DeVoe's dead body lying in their apartment, the odd, anonymously sent knife wedding gift sticking out of his chest. That was before Captain Singh began hammering on the door.

That was before he got arrested.

But for now, he just held Caitlin tighter, and they enjoyed their Christmas Eve.

 **Author's Note: Oh HOW I WISH that I could have made that a fixit! C'mon, seriously... they have security alarms and** ** _not_** **cameras in their house? I bet Cisco could have pulled up feed in a minute on his phone and they could have seen the problem!**

 **BUT I have to stay true to the plot line, unfortunately. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. THEY HAD THEIR FIRST TIME! (and for those of you who thought it was confusing, yes, they did have sex. They're married now, so it's okay. Just felt the need to make that clear XD)**


	10. 4x10

**Author's Note: Barry being in jail, as upsetting as the plot was, also has some cute possibilities. I really wish they had included a scene of Caitlin going to visit him and filling him in on everything that was going on... though, of course that would be taboo because the writers are too insecure about the WA relationship.**

 _My name is Barry Allen. And I'm an innocent man._

 _I know that you'll find my fingerprints all over his body. And I know that you'll find his DNA on mine. But I don't know who stabbed him. Or how he ended up in my loft. All I can tell you is I'm being framed_ _for something that I didn't do._

 _I didn't kill Clifford DeVoe._

 **Flash!**

"This is exactly what DeVoe wanted," Barry said. He was facing the rest of his team, back in the Cortex after his interrogation. "We played right into his hands. Especially me."

"Why would DeVoe want to orchestrate all of this?" Iris asked, shaking her head slowly. The shock of Barry's arrest, news which had come about an hour before the clock struck midnight and it became Christmas, had worn off some. Now there was nothing they could do but figure out how to fix the mess they had gotten into.

"I don't know," Barry sighed. "But we know it all started when I was still in the Speed Force."

Joe shook his head. "But why target Dominic?"

"Dominic's power must have allowed DeVoe to inhabit his body," Harry theorized. "We should have been on top of this earlier."

"What about the other metas on the bus?" Caitlin threw out. "Why create them?"

"Part of a larger plan?" Harry shrugged, glancing over at Barry.

He nodded, and one foot reached up to knock against the clunky metal cuff on his ankle. It was a cuff designed for people under house arrest, which Barry was.

Ralph frowned. "How are you even here right now, Allen? Aren't you on house arrest?"

"Yeah, well-"

"He's at Joe's, actually," Cisco said, finished his sentence. "Either that or the Courthouse. I managed to hack into the ankle monitor GPS."

"That's not the only thing Cisco hacked," Iris said thoughtfully. "When you came out of the Speed Force, you were talking gibberish. At the CCPD, you said something about not wanting to kill anyone."

"I scrubbed the video," Cisco reassured him. "The last thing we want is someone hearing something we don't want them to hear."

He pulled up the feed from the CCPD, back when they had just found Barry. _"Your honor,"_ video Barry was saying, _"I'm innocent. I didn't do this. I didn't kill anyone!"_

Cisco cut the feed, and Barry shook his head. "Yeah, I mean, I don't remember saying any of that."

"You don't?" Harry asked.

"No."

"We should look at everything else he said when he first came out of the Speed Force," Harry suggested. "It might give us a clue."

Joe nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Okay, but look guys, remember... considering all the evidence they have against me, this trial isn't even going to last very long," Barry reminded them.

Caitlin smiled at him. He seemed so resigned to his fate and she didn't like it. "Okay, but Cecilee taking a leave of absence to represent you... you've got the best lawyer in town."

Barry smiled back at her gratefully. "Yeah."

"And even if they _did_ find you guilty, it's not as if any prison can hold you," Cisco added.

Barry frowned. "I'm not gonna run," he told them. The shocked faces of the rest of his Team stared out at him, but Barry wasn't about to change his mind. "I won't be a fugitive. If I'm convicted, I have to go to prison."

"We're not going to let that happen," Joe said firmly.

"Right," Harry said. "Let's get to work."

The rest of the Team filed out of the room, leaving Caitlin and Barry alone. "We should get to the Courthouse," Barry said, before pausing to stand beside her. "How're you doing?"

"Well... they say the first year of marriage is the hardest," Caitlin shrugged, giving him a weak half-smile. "I honestly never thought you being on trial for murder would be one of those challenges."

Barry took her hands and rubbed them soothingly. "We have been through so much," he told her. "We'll get through this, too. Okay?"

She sighed, looping her arms around his neck. "I don't know Barry," she whispered. "But okay."

 **Flash!**

After the prosecutor's opening remarks, where he painted Barry as an "evil man", and a "wolf in sheeps clothing", he pulled out the restraining order from Marlize. Then he talked about how Barry was seen breaking into DeVoe's house... how his skin cells were found under DeVoe's nails... and finally the knife, the anonymous wedding gift Barry and Caitlin had received, covered in Clifford's blood.

Barry's fingerprints, of course, were all over it.

Heart sinking, Caitlin stared at the back of Barry's head from her seat in the audience. This was looking incredibly hopeless.

"He used a wedding gift as a murder weapon," the prosecutor was saying, shaking his head in disgust. "That's a special kind of evil."

Iris reached over and took Caitlin's hand. She gave it a grateful squeeze, taking a steadying breath.

A second later, Joe pulled out his phone. "Cisco," he whispered, leaning over. "There's a meta attack downtown. We gotta go."

Caitlin glanced toward her husband and then back at Joe. "Call me if you need me," she told him, loath to leave until the trial was over.

Joe nodded and he and Cisco stood up, hurrying out of the courtroom as quietly as possible.

About a half hour later, none other than Captain David Singh showed up at the witness stand. He reluctantly testified to seeing Barry Allen standing over DeVoe's dead body. The jury murmured, and then Cecile stood up.

"Captain Singh," she began, striding toward the front of the room with a kind of confidence Caitlin wished she had at the moment. "You stated that you interviewed Barry Allen five years ago for the job of CSI. I wonder... what was your first impression of him?"

"He was young," David said. "And had half the experience of everyone else I interviewed."

"Huh," Cecile murmured. "Why'd you hire him?"

"It was really something he said in the interview," Singh said. "Everyone always talks about going after the criminal; the guilty. But Allen said he wanted to help the victims. The innocents. I thought Central City deserved someone like that. Allen is one of the good ones." He gave Barry a look from behind the witness stand. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there.

Cecile smiled. She turned to the jury, looking at them calmly. "The good ones," she repeated. "No further questions, your honor."

For a brief moment, Barry thought the tides might be turning in his favor. That was before the prosecutor stood back up. He brought up the fact that Barry had been gone for six months, and that he had been late 72 times in the past two years. "Did you ever ask him why?" the prosecutor asked.

"No," Singh stated firmly, almost angrily. "Because no matter what time he got in he always did his job."

"I'd be curious to know what he does with his time when he's away from work. It's almost as if he has this... secret life."

Caitlin shook her head slowly, watching as Barry's chin dropped a little, his face incredulous. _If they only knew_.

The trail proceeded. Every time the prosecutor spoke he brought up more contradictions in Barry's "good samaritan" persona, more things he had done wrong over the years when in reality he had been saving the world, time and time again, as the Flash. It was depressing to hear.

The court adjourned for a break after Captain Singh's testimony was done. Caitlin, Barry and Cecile are went back into a waiting room to talk.

"We still have a few options," Cecile said, leaning forward.

"What are they?" Caitlin asked. She was gripping Barry's hand under the table. If he got arrested, who knew how much more time she was going to be able to spend with him?

"I could go to Slater and asked for a plea-deal... maybe get you a shorter sentence?" Cecile suggested. "Or we could use an insanity defense."

Barry laughed humorlessly. "No... no. Both of those options are admitting I'm guilty and I'm not."

"Fine," Cecile said seriously. "Then the only other way out of this is for you to testify."

"Cecile... I'm sorry; I won't do it."

"All of the evidence- _every bit of it-_ it points to you! If you're not willing to take to the stand and defend yourself than this is an impossible case."

"I'm not taking a stand," Barry refused.

"Barry, even if it means not going to jail?" Caitlin asked pleadingly.

"Cait, if I testify, I have to lie," Barry told her. "I commit perjury, I become exactly who they think I am."

Cecile got a strange look on her face. "Then don't lie."

"What?"

"Tell the truth," she elaborated. "Tell everyone you're the Flash."

Barry laughed incredulously, wiping a hand over his face.

"Barry, if the court knows you're the Flash, you can explain everything and they'll believe you," Cecile said. "The prosecutions going to wrap up soon. I need your answer today. This is the only way, Barry. Tell the city you're the Flash."

 **Flash!**

After Marlize's "heartbreaking" performance regarding her "late-husband's" run in with Mr. Allen and why he had been at Barry's apartment on Christmas, Ralph and Joe came in with a photograph of her kissing Dominic (who DeVoe had someone managed to take the body of).

Unfortunately, Marlize managed to even turn that amazing piece of evidence, which Cecile was using to claim that _Marlize_ had killed her husband, in her favor. She told the court about how Clifford had allowed her to find someone to satisfy her "bodily needs", as he couldn't, and managed to move everyone to pity. Then she went out to the hallway to collect herself.

Filled with a sudden, unusual anger, Caitlin went after her.

"Marlize!" she called, the familiar cold bubbling up in her as she saw the young woman continuing to put up an act, wiping tears from her face. She shoved Frost down. She could do this herself.

"Dr. Snow," Marlize said stiffly. "I don't think it's appropriate for the two of us to be seen talking."

Caitlin gritted her teeth. "No one is watching. So just... drop the act already."

Marlize finally looked over. Her face was still wet with tears, eyes red-rimmed. She had certainly sold her performance, but now her real nature was shining through. "If you insist," she said primly, striding forward to get closer to Caitlin.

Caitlin got straight to the point. "What is wrong with you? How could you do this?"

"It's not about what's wrong with me," Marlize snapped. "It's about what's wrong with the world. There are problems bigger than your husband."

Caitlin glared at her. "Whatever it is that you and your husband are up to, we _will_ stop you."

Marlize nodded quickly. "Oh, such passion. I had that too, when Clifford and I first got married. But passion fades, and what remains, if you are fortunate like Clifford and I, is something deeper, something that cannot be destroyed."

"Then why are you so bent on destroying our lives?" Caitlin demanded.

"I am doing what I have to do for my husband, Dr. Snow!" Marlize exclaimed, and she seemed to really believe it. Then her eyes went cold. "Now, a question you should truly be asking... is what are you willing to do for yours?"

 **Flash!**

Marlize had just disappeared down the hall when Caitlin made up her decision. She shoved open the doors of the courtroom before she could lose her nerve and strode inside. "Your honor! There's something you need to know right now that will alter the outcome of this case."

People began to rise to their feet, the judge banging his gavel to try and retain order. Caitlin took a deep breath. "Barry Allen is the-"

Suddenly, Barry's hands were on her shoulders. Caitlin jumped with a small gasp, staring around them. The whole room was flickering with lightning, everyone frozen.

"What's happening?" she whispered, voice hoarse. "Are we-?"

"We're moving so quickly that everyone around us is still," Barry confirmed.

"How are you able to do this... with me?" Caitlin asked, her scientific brain starting to click unconsciously.

"I don't know," Barry admitted, before placing his hand on her cheek, turning her back to face him. "Caitlin... hey. I already decided not to tell anyone else who I am."

"But Barry, if the jury knew you're the Flash they wouldn't convict you," Caitlin protested.

"I'm trying to protect you," Barry said gently. "If everyone knew my secret, we would never stop running."

"I would rather run with you forever than be alone and standing still," Caitlin said, her voice breaking.

Barry shook his head. "It wouldn't just be us running. Everyone that has stood by us the past four years would have a target on their back. If criminals knew my name, they'd know my weakness."

Her eyes filled suddenly with tears. "I'm trying to be strong Barry, but I just can't anymore," she breathed.

He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, shutting his eyes. "I know."

"How can you?"

"My dad," Barry said. "He went through this, too."

"The trial is not over, Barry," Caitlin said firmly.

He smiled at her sadly, wiping away one of her tears with his thumb. "Yeah it is. All the evidence points towards me. You can't tell them, okay? Just like I didn't tell Julian that you're Frost. You know that they can't know."

She nodded shakily and kissed him. " _Okay_."

In the next moment, the world around them was moving and Barry was back in his seat.

"Well?" the judge asked impatiently.

Caitlin swallowed, mind going blank. "I just- I felt like- I felt like you all should know that- that Barry Allen is one of the kindest, gentlest, most harmless people you will ever meet. I love him more than anything in this entire world and he has stuck with him though every hardship I've had. It may not seem like it, with the evidence and everything stacked against him, but Barry Allen is innocent."

The courtroom was completely silent, and Caitlin turned a dark red. "Thank you for your time, okay."

She turned and hurried out of the courtroom and to the hallway, but not before catching Barry's smile.

 **Flash!**

Cisco and Harry called Caitlin back to STAR Labs. They needed her help, which caused her to miss the moment when the defense rested its case. There was nothing more to be done. They had fought valiantly... but it was up to the jury now.

They had found Fallout, and, unfortunately, needed to call the whole Team in to help.

Barry was able to flash in in time to save Captain Singh and the other police officers from radiation poisoning. "You need to stop!" he called over to Fallout, the radiation-exuding metahuman.

"I don't want to hurt anyone!" Fallout yelled, eyes wide and skin glowing a cracked green.

"I understand, but your radioactivity is dangerous," Barry said, walking forward slowly with one hand outstretched, showing he meant Fallout no harm. Suddenly, he staggered, an intense wave of pain and nausea flooding him. He tugged of one of his gloves, hand burning, to find it covered with blisters. "Guys?"

"7,500 rads," Caitlin told him nervously.

"Barry, don't get to close to him," Harry ordered. "The radiation he's emitting is too hot to allow your cells to regenerate."

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up," Barry breathed, pulling his glove back on and taking a couple steps back. "What am I supposed to do? How do I stop him?"

Suddenly, Fallout flung his arm out. A blast of green radiation shot from his fingertips and slammed into Barry's chest, sending him flying backwards. He was knocked back quite a ways, crashing into an abandoned police car halfway down the street.

"I can't stop this!" Fallout cried desperately.

"Dang," Cisco muttered. "We need to cool him down."

Harry's eyebrows shot up and he snapped a finger at Caitlin. Cisco grinned. "Killer Frost!"

Caitlin glanced up, before rolling her eyes. "Great."

"Well?" Cisco prompted, when nothing happened. "Go! Turn!"

Caitlin tossed her hands up in exasperation. "Well- that's- that's not how it works! I can't just snap my fingers and make her appear! It only happens when I'm scared or angry."

Harry and Cisco, in perfect unison, raised their hands to their heads. "Oh good Lord- _Caitlin_!"

She jumped.

"Caitlin, the cities about to explode!" Cisco yelled, grabbing his vibe-glasses from the desk, along with Frost's jacked. "Everyone- Every _thing_ , you know and love... the birds, the trees, Barry, the puppies!"

Harry spun Caitlin neatly around as Cisco loomed over her. " _The puppies are going down because you didn't want to SHOW UP FOR WORK_!"

The last four words were yelled by both Harry _and_ Cisco, and alarmed, Caitlin hopped to her feet. "Thanks," she muttered, eyes flashing blue.

Harry helped her into her jacket, he and Cisco congratulating themselves before the former cried, " _Yes,_ now go!"

Cisco and Caitlin leapt through a breach, and Cisco and Frost stepped out on the other side.

"What's going on?" Frost asked, striding calmly across the pavement and glancing around. "Is this business or a social call?"

Then her eyes caught sight of Fallout and she pulled a face. "Business, I see," she muttered, before hitting him with a steady stream of ice.

In no time at all Fallout was encased in a dome of ice. Frost tilted her head and smiled, appreciating the satisfaction of a job well done.

That was before the ice melted and Fallout shot a blast of radiation on her. Frost flew backward and smashed through the glass divider of a bus stop, landing in a crumpled heap on the other side.

Barry shoved himself to his feet and flashed to her side, fingers immediately going to the cold skin at her neck to check for a pulse.

"Is she okay?" Cisco gasped, running over.

"She'll be okay, yeah," Barry confirmed, brushing Frost's hair out of her face before pulling himself away. "Got any more ideas?"

Cisco thought for a second before touching the comm at his ear. "What if I breach him?" he asked Harry.

"Ramon, no," Harry replied immediately. "If you drop him in a breach he could explode."

"And Fallout's fall out would kill us all," Cisco finished.

"Wait, what if I create a vacuum around him?" Barry suggested, getting to his feet. "That way, even if he does explode we'll still contain the blast."

"Yeah, yes, Allen!" Harry exclaimed. "Yes, that could work. That could contain it. But whatever you're gonna do, do it fast! Fallout is just above 8,000 rads."

Barry turned to Cisco and they nodded, agreeing to the plan. Then he shot off and began to run in tight circles around Fallout's groaning form.

"The vacuum's containing his energy!" Barry reported as he ran.

"Good!"

"But he's still getting stronger!"

"Allen, I don't know how long you can take this much radiation," Harry said warningly.

Barry grit his teeth, keeping pace. "I don't have a choice! We have to contain his energy."

"9,000 rads," Harry read off. "10,000 rads. Critical. Ramon! You need to send the energy somewhere."

"What?!" Cisco cried. "To where?"

"Earth 15!" Harry exclaimed. "Earth 15 is a dead Earth. Breach it there, now!"

Cisco planted himself and opened up a breach. A couple seconds later, Fallout was collapsed on the ground, radiation gone. Barry skidded to a stop, covered in blisters and panting. But there was a grin on his face.

They had done it.

 **Flash!**

Only Joe and Iris were actually there when Barry was pronounced guilty.

Frost, Cisco and Barry had breached back to STAR Labs. Frost had a bit of a headache but her metahuman DNA was causing her to quickly recover. She took one look at Barry and wrinkled her nose. "Yep, I'm gonna leave. You need Caitlin now, not me."

Soon, Caitlin was standing in the medical bay with Barry sitting in front of her. His injuries, too, were rapidly healing. She finished up her checkup and pronounced him good to go. "Thanks to your meta-metabolism, your radiation burns should heal within the next few minutes."

He nodded, smiling at her and rubbing at his hand. It was still shiny with aloe; Caitlin's attempt to remove the pain until the burns could heal entirely.

"What about Fallout?" Barry asked as they walked together out of Caitlin's lab.

"He's... unstable, but we sent him to Tracy's lab. She's gonna analyze his DNA, and see if it's the same as our other bus metas so she can neutralize him."

They had reached the Cortex and stepped into the room to see the video screens broadcasting the latest news.

 _"_ _...at the court mere minutes ago, the jury found Bartholomew Henry Allen guilty in the murder of Professor Clifford DeVoe._ "

All the blood drained from Caitlin's face. She stopped where she stood, staring at Barry in horror.

" _Mr. Allen has been a CSI with the Central City Police Department for the last five years. In just a few hours, the judge is expected to announce Mr. Allen's sentence. Prosecutor Anton Slater made a statement. He held that Mr. Allen would get a life-sentence, given the brutal nature of the cri-_ "

Cisco turned off the television as Joe and Iris walked in, and the Cortex was plunged into silence. Caitlin saw Barry's shoulders slump. He had accepted his face hours ago, but it was still like a punch in the gut.

"I can't believe this is happening," Joe murmured.

"C'mon guys," Barry said, still trying to be positive. "We save the city today. We knew this wasn't going to go my way in court. That doesn't mean that DeVoe beat us."

"Whatever happens, we're gonna keep fighting," Joe stated firmly.

"I know," Barry allowed.

"We need to get you back," Iris spoke up. "You need to be there for sentencing."

She glanced over at Caitlin and the doctor nodded, grabbing her coat and Barry's hand. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" Barry said to the rest of the team. "We'll be okay."

As they walked into the hall, Caitlin pulled Barry to a stop. "You said you got your strength from your dad," she said quietly. "And I got mine from you. I'm going to try to be strong, Barry. For the both of us."

He smiled a little and brushed her cheek with his free hand. "Yeah," he whispered. "Me too."

 **Author's Note: OOOOOOKAY now that that one's done we can start having some real fun!**

 **Don't get me wrong- this was an AMAZING episode. But I just didn't really feel like writing out the long strings of the prosecutor's dialogue and stuff 'cause I'm lazy XD**


	11. 4x11

**Author's Note: Four ex elevennnnnnnnnnnnnnn**

 **(AKA what you say when you can't come up with an Author's Note)**

Barry was trying to sit through a prison riot, but it wasn't working.

Every other prisoner was out in the main hallway, hollering, yelling, swearing, and lighting spare papers and toilet paper on fire. The guards were struggling to regain order, and Barry sat, fidgeting. Not helping stop crime was like trying not to eat Caitlin's pancakes.

Basically... _impossible_.

He _might_ have kept his resolve, if a guard hadn't been shoved roughly into the open bars of his cage. Hearing the guard's groan, Barry finally leapt to his feet and shot into super speed. In seconds, all the prisoners were back in their cells.

"They're back in!" one guard yelled. "Lock it up!"

Barry, sitting back on his thin mattress, reached out and used a vibrating finger to add a tally mark to the engravings on his cell wall.

 _Henry Allen was here_

The top one read. Underneath, Barry had used his finger and made a second message:

 _So was Barry_

Underneath that there were seven tallies. Today marked the first full week that he had been in prison.

To be completely honest, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. He helped, occasionally, when the prisoners got too out of hand, but mostly kept to himself. He stayed quiet, didn't argue with any fellow prison-mates, and tried to develop the sense of inner calm and peace that he had had when he came out of the Speed Force.

Being in the same cell as his father helped.

Being apart from Caitlin... not so much.

Back at STAR Labs, things were tense. Iris was constantly snippy with Ralph, who was doing his best to replace Barry and doing absolutely terribly. He had saved quite a few people, that was true, but he treated everything like a joke. He would crack jokes while fighting baddies, risk peoples lives because of his recklessness, and then only seem to care about how horrible his suit and his new name (Mr. Stretch) were... things that Iris wasted no time in pointing out.

Caitlin refused to drop her positive opinion. She knew that, eventually, they would get Barry out. Innocent people just couldn't stay framed. Eventually, something had to _not_ add up. It was only logical... the truth was the truth and eventually the judge would see that. Besides, as she had told Barry before his sentencing, she was going to remain strong for the both of them.

But things couldn't last like this forever. Iris and Ralph were almost constantly bickering, and Cisco was sullen and moody. Joe and Cecile were obsessing over all the evidence from the case, hoping their appeal to the judge would work and Barry could be released. Caitlin...

Well, Caitlin was basically living for the five minutes a day she got to visit Barry.

In all honesty, Barry was, too. After lunch, when all of the prisoners in his shift would stand around in the courtyard, talking and eating the occasional container of pudding, he would glance consistently at the clock. Caitlin came at 1:30 sharp, every day. She was never late. She was Caitlin- of course she wasn't.

After a talk with the Trickster's son (the Trickster Jr.) and an unnerving encounter with one of the prison gangs, where Barry was tripped and accidentally got mud on the gang leader's white shoes, the speedster was glad to get inside the building.

Caitlin was sitting in her chair, wearing a grey shirt and a dark red blazer. His entire face lit up upon seeing her, and he hurried over to his chair. Both of them reached eagerly for their phones.

"Hey," Barry said immediately. "I'm so glad to see you."

She bit her lip happily, eyes sparkling a little. "Me too."

They grinned at each other for a moment before Caitlin remember their time constraint. "How is everything going?"

Barry shrugged easily, still smiling. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be," he admitted. "And hey, you're talking to the newest member of the Iron Heights Janitorial Squad. I'm the fastest mop alive."

Caitlin's eyebrows raised, and she let out a laugh. "Cisco would be proud of that pun."

Barry beamed at her.

"Well, we've been surveilling the DeVoe's 24/7," Caitlin continued. That much hadn't changed from yesterday's visit. "And Joe and Cecil have been pouring over all of the evidence. If they make a mistake... we'll catch it. We're going to get you out of here."

"I know you will," Barry murmured. "How's the rest of the Team? And Frost? I saw Ralph on TV."

Caitlin shook her head. "Ralph... well, he's Ralph, I suppose. He thinks he's invincible, no matter how many times Iris tries to scold or ration with him." She quickly changed the course of her words, not wanting to let on how brutal things were at STAR Labs without him. There was a certain amount of covering up that went into her visits with Barry. She had a feeling that neither of them told the exact truth of what they were going through. It was easier that way.

"Frost is doing well," she continued with a smile. "She's been acting a little crabby lately. I think she misses you." She paused, before adding softly: "She's not the only one."

"Caitlin, it's alright," Barry whispered.

"I just can't believe that this is our new normal, Barry," Caitlin sighed. "I don't want this to be how it is for the rest of our lives."

"You're going to find something. I know it," Barry said encouragingly.

Caitlin nodded, sighing again, and the buzzer sounded. Their time was up.

Caitlin's face fell. "I just wish I could hold your hand again," she whispered, her eyes filling.

Both their gazes went to the security camera, slowly oscillating to view the room. Barry gave her a soft smile, putting his hand to the glass. "You will."

She placed her own hand against the glass, mirroring his position. If she concentrated hard enough she could almost feel the warmth of his fingers, through the glass, touching hers.

But that was impossible.

"I promise," Barry whispered, before he stood up. She turned to go, slinging her purse over her shoulder and smiling one more time at him. He smiled back, keeping the look on his face until she had disappeared around the corner.

Than the smile drooped, and Barry walked back into prison.

 **Flash!**

Barry returned to his mopping, only to meet Joe and learn that Axel Walker (the Trickster Jr.) had escaped from prison. It was a bit of a blow- not just seeing his father and not being able to hug him, but also to find out that he had just recently talked to the bad guy who had broke out of jail and was now on the fast track to probably hurting someone or blowing something up.

Meanwhile, Caitlin was having a different kind of trouble. She had gotten back to her car and immediately started crying. She wasn't even sure what was wrong- of course Barry's imprisonment was hard and borderline hopeless, but it wasn't more so today than other days. Why was it _now_ that she was curled up in the front seat of her Prius, bawling her eyes out?

Just a half hour later, when she had finally calmed down and gotten herself over to STAR Labs, she found herself hunched over a wastebasket, throwing up. Iris came sprinting down the hall. "Caitlin!" she gasped, running over. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

Caitlin groaned and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I feel a lot better now than I did just a couple minutes ago."

"You should go home," Iris urged, concerned. "And get some rest."

Caitlin swallowed a few times, trying to get rid of the terrible taste in her mouth, before standing up and nodding. "I'll just go into one of the overnight rooms," she told Iris. "I'll lie down for a little- I promise! But I don't want to leave, just in case something happens. I don't exactly have a speedster to get me here quickly anymore."

Iris rubbed her shoulder and walked her to the overnight room that Jesse Wells had stayed in last year. She left Caitlin alone to take a quick cat nap.

She was rudely awoken when the small screen in the corner flickered on and the face of Axel Walker filled the black space. "Hellooooo, Central City!" he cried. "It's been far, _far_ too long since my beautiful face graced your screens. Today we're going to play a little game that I liked to call 'What Does This Do'?"

Caitlin sat up and pushed her hair back from her face as Axel held up an object for the camera to see. "It looks like a regular old bouncy ball," he said, "but _what does this do_? Let's find out! If and when you throw it hard enough..."

He panned the camera over to show the ball bouncing under a taxi. A second later, the entire vehicle exploded.

"KABOOM!" Axel cried, throwing his hand in the air.

Caitlin threw herself to her feet, haphazardly slid on her heels, and ran for the Cortex. She arrived in the room just in time to hear Cisco say, "He's downtown. Corner of De Mio and Bilson."

"Bring me the stretchy man," Axel was saying. "Or else you're going to go boom-boom!"

Ralph's eyes went wide. "My first super villain thunderdome challenge. This is _awesome_."

Iris' lips pursed. "Ralph, you do not know this guy. He's dangerous."

"He's throwing bouncy balls and wearing a bedazzled pea coat," Ralph said, squinting at her. "I've got this."

He grasped the two sides of his button down and pulled. It broke open halfway and he looked down, frowning.

"Still haven't taken that off?" Cisco asked flatly.

"Oh, I sleep in this," Ralph grinned. Then he paused. "D'you mind breaching me there? It's a lot faster."

A couple minutes later, things went predictably south.

"He's panicking," Caitlin reported as Ralph screamed bloody murder over the coms. On the body visual on her computer she saw his knee flashing red. "His heart rate is off the charts."

"Ralph?" Iris asked tentatively. "Are you okay?"

" _Heeeeeeellllllppppp..._ " Ralph garbled.

A second later, Cisco hopped out of a breach and shot Axel back with a vibe blast. "Not today, Satan!" he quipped, wiggling his finger before grabbing Ralph and throwing both of them back into the breach.

 **Flash!**

"What the heck was that stuff?" Ralph wheezed. He was lying on the gurney gripping his knee, which was a mottled white and brown mess of sizzled skin and blood.

"It looks like Axel created some sort of super-acid," Caitlin told him, wincing.

"Yeah, it's gotta PH level of negative 50 and all it did was burn through your skin," Harry said, pulling a face.

"If it were anybody else it would have melted right through them," Cisco agreed. "Like in..."

"Aliens," Harry finished.

"But you said my cells were polymerized," Ralph whimpered. "You said nothing could hurt them!"

"Disney, I didn't say that," Harry interrupted. "I said your cells were bonded unlike anything I'd ever seen. I've never seen acid like this, and so cannot be responsible for things I have never seen.

"It definitely hurts," Ralph whined.

"Well," Iris shrugged. "Now we know what your kryptonite is."

"What the heck is kryptonite?" Ralph asked weakly.

Everyone in the room turned and gave him a look. "Aw, come on," Harry muttered.

"Am I going to heal?" Ralph pressed.

"Eventually," Caitlin reassured him, at the same time as Harry said, "Probably."

"Well, Caitlin," Iris said, cutting in quickly as Ralph's eyes went huge. "You can deal with the wound and manage the pain?"

"Yeah," Caitlin told her and she nodded, wincing and hurrying out of the room. Caitlin turned back to Ralph. "This might sting a little."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin had been so focused on Ralph that she had forgotten about her 1:30 appointment at the prison with Barry. When she realized that she had forgotten it, she immediately burst into tears.

"Caitlin!" Iris gasped, running over. "Oh my goodness, what's wrong?"

"I- I forgot to- to go see Barry," Caitlin sniffled, wiping frantically at her eyes. "I don't- I don't know why I'm crying though I just feel so- so _guilty_!"

Iris rubbed her shoulder. "That time of month, maybe?" she suggested with a slight grin.

Instead of laughing, Caitlin's eyes went wide. "Oh my God," she whispered, face draining of blood. "Oh my god. I'm late. Iris, I'm a week late."

Iris' eyebrows went up. "Oh?"

Caitlin nodded, gulping. "The throwing up, the mood swings... it all makes sense." She stared down at her stomach in a mixture of wonderment and horror, before letting out another wail. "Oh my _God_ , this cannot be happening now!"

Iris quickly put an arm around her. "Breathe, Caitlin," she said calmly. "You don't know for sure that you're pregnant. Should you check?"

"I can't," Caitlin gasped. "I can't Iris- not now."

"Okay," Iris agreed immediately. "Wait until you're ready."

Nodding, Caitlin wiped her eyes. "I just can't believe that after all this time... I'm going to have to do this without him. Without Barry, Iris. I'm going to have to do this alone."

"Caitlin." Iris placed her hands on Caitlin's shoulders and stared her square in the face. "We are going to get Barry out of prison. I promise you that. And even with we don't, you are _never_ alone. You got that?"

Sniffling, Caitlin nodded again. "Okay," she whispered. "Thank you, Iris."

Iris pulled her in for a hug. "No problem," she said with a smile. "Now, as much as I wish I could give you all the time you need, we really need to find Axel. And if we have to go fight him... well, we could really use Frost's help."

Caitlin nodded her agreement and straightened up, taking a deep breath. "Just as long as I'm available for my 1:30 time slot tomorrow afternoon," she agreed.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin was _not_ , unfortunately, available for her 1:30 time slot the next afternoon.

Axel and his mother (who had broken him out of prison and now went by Prank) had taken two hostages for their sick 'game show' the _Wheel of Misfortune_ , and they wanted Ralph to come and play within the hour. Cisco had, thankfully, managed to get a location off of the video broadcast.

"They're at the old Clark Stories factory in Lawrence Hills," he reported.

"I'm going to have CCPD create a perimeter a few blocks away so they can't escape," Joe said, turning and heading out of the Cortex.

"Harry, how are you coming with the solvent for Trickster's acid?" Iris asked.

"Well, slowly," Harry told her. "It's very difficult to neutralize a substance that hasn't existed until today."

"You've got 59 minutes," Iris said as he started to power-walk to his lab.

"All I need is 58!"

"Ralph, suit up," Iris ordered.

Cisco came around the desk and handed Ralph a small black container. "You wanted a new suit, didn't you? I even made it pocket sized."

Ralph looked down at it, before he glanced back up at Cisco. "Is it acid proof?"

Cisco's face fell, and Ralph handed him back the suit. "I can't do it," he murmured in a low voice.

"These people need our help!" Caitlin protested, staring at him in horror.

"Yeah, sorry, but me getting melted... that is a deal breaker," Ralph said.

Even as they tried pleading with him, Ralph walked out of the Cortex. About fifty minutes later, Harry walked back in with his neutralizer. "I'll get in and neutralize the acid," he told Caitlin and Cisco. "While the two of you get the hostages out. Oh," he glanced up. "We're going to need the Ice Queen."

"Oh, that's not how it works," Caitlin was quick to explain (though she was fairly positive that she had already explained this to him before). "I can't just-"

" _Lexi LaRoche!_ " both Harry and Cisco yelled. Immediately, Caitlin's eyes turned blue. "Old childhood bully," Cisco explained to Iris. "There's a lot of repressed anger. Now LET'S GO!"

 **Flash!**

"Remember," Cisco whispered as he walked at a crouch through the empty factory. "Anything here that looks fun is probably lethal."

Frost smirked. "Just like me."

"Nice," Cisco grinned, nodding his agreement. "Now let's get these people to safety."

"Or we could just leave them and kill Trickster and Prank," Frost suggested as the two of them walked cautiously to the two hostages, who were tied to chairs with burlap sacks over their heads.

"Remember that talk about murdering your way out of problems? We don't do that!"

"Yet," Frost countered, stepping up behind him on the game show platform.

"Let's get you out of here," Cisco muttered as he started to work at the hostages bonds.

The two of them looked up and turned around as three fuzzy blue stuffed toys floated down from the ceiling. "Beebo hungry," they said in unison, before giggling creepily. "Beebo likes to play."

Grimacing in disgust, Frost iced them. They fell to the ground and shattered, and she turned to smile at Cisco.

A second later, the hostages ripped the sacks off of their own heads and clamped power-dampening cuffs down and Frost and Cisco's wrists. They gasped, face to face with none other than Axel and Prank.

Frost was forced out of Caitlin's system and she came to, blinking in confusion but quickly connecting the dots as to where she was and what had happened. "Tricked ya!" the Trickster Jr. taunted.

"I'm guessing the plan didn't work?" Caitlin asked, eyebrows raised.

"Uhhh, help!" Cisco called.

In just a few moments, Caitlin and Cisco were strapped to chairs with bonds wrapped around their wrists, waists, and legs. Caitlin struggled, trying to get at the knot so that she could undo at least one hand, but it was pretty hopeless.

The Trickster and Prank started their game show again, which led to them spinning the wheel of death in the corner. Caitlin exchanged a terrified look with Cisco. After everything they had gone through in their lives, was this _seriously_ how they were going to die?

"Oh, a tie?" Axel said, eyeing the wheel. Then he shrugged. "I guess they die together."

He walked over and plucked the vibe-glasses off of Cisco's face. Caitlin squeezed her eyes shut. A second later, none other than Ralph Dibney smashed through the ceiling's glass and stretched his way into the room.

He was just back from a talk with Barry, who had urged him to be a hero, be brave, and to realize that there are people who fight every day without superpowers. Now he was here, ready to come to the rescue. And in a new suit, to boot.

"Nice outfit," Prank complimented.

"Thanks," Ralph accepted graciously. "Now let them go, Tricksters, and nobody gets hurt."

"I thought you'd chickened out, stretchy man," Axel admitted.

"I did," Ralph replied. "See, I thought I was pretty much invincible, until your oversized water pistol put the fear of God in me. I nearly threw in the towel. But then I visited an old friend of mine, and reminded me that no one is fearless. And that real heroes? They find a way to rise above that fear, and make a difference anyway. Even if it kills them in the process. So, this is me, rising up. Hopefully without the dying part. Now _let_ my _friends_... _GO_."

The Trickster and Prank both began to applaud. Caitlin couldn't help a small smile herself. Ralph had come a very long way in a very short time. In a way, she was proud of him.

"First of all, great speech, so inspired, it melted my heart," Prank began.

"Oh, thank you! I worked on it on my way over."

"Now let's melt yours," she interrupted, giggling maniacally.

In a classic sling-shot maneuver, Ralph stretched himself away from the bursts of acid and slammed into Axel. The young man crumpled to the ground, acid-gun falling out of his hand.

"Ah!" Prank screeched. "Boo Boo!"

"I'd give up, if I were you," Ralph told her, turning around majestically.

"I'm gonna melt your friends instead!" Prank cried, snatching the lever and dragging it to the other side of the wheel, toward _Acid_.

"No!" Ralph yelled, running over and shoving Prank away from the lever. But it was too late. Caitlin and Cisco could hear the acid bubbling through the pipes, heading towards them. There would be no time to break out of their bonds.

"Say goodbye to your little friends," Prank hissed.

"Harry!" Caitlin shrieked desperately. Her mind was white nose, waiting for the acid to come down and burn through her skull, decimating her hair and her skin and her bones... and then her brain.

Oddly enough, the thing she had managed to forget popped into her mind.

 _She might be pregnant._

Caitlin felt a tug at her heart. Not only would _her_ life be lost today, but the small, unborn child inside of her would die, too.

And Barry would never even know.

With a battle cry, Ralph threw himself over Caitlin and Cisco's heads as the bubble-gum colored acid rained down on them. His cry turned into a scream of agony, which slowly trickled into a murmur.

"It doesn't hurt," he realized. "It DOESN'T HURT! HahahaHA!" His head spun around, looking at them from underneath his body-shelter. "Why am I not dying?"

"Because," Harry said, shutting the lid of his computer and sitting back with a long breath of relief. "I got it."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin came early the next day. She needed, partially, to make up for the days she had missed visiting Barry. The other part of her just wanted to see him.

She hadn't checked yet. There was a pregnancy test lying on her bathroom counter, yet to be opened. Every time she walked in, ready to see... she just couldn't do it. She knew, of course, that if she was pregnant, she would still be pregnant even if she didn't have proof. But testing it made it _real_.

It wasn't exactly that she wasn't ready to have a baby. She and Barry were married, and of course things were crazy, but when would they _not_ be crazy in their lives? The worst part was just that he was in prison. As much as she appreciated Iris' support (and the support that she knew the entire Team would offer), she needed _Barry_ to get through this.

Caitlin was desperately wanting to tell him all of this -about her suspicions and her fear and her need for him to get out and come home to her- but it all withered on her tongue the second she saw him walking through the door.

He was still wearing his beanie and he gave her a wide smile as they both sat down, reaching for the phones. "Hello, stranger," he greeted with a grin.

"Sorry," she apologized, wincing. "Things got a little crazy. Trust me- I wanted to come by more than anything. I just happened to be tied to a chair with the eminent threat of acid being held over me."

Barry's eyes widened. "Oh," he managed.

She winced again. "I'm guessing Ralph didn't tell you all the details?"

"I heard the... abridged version," he admitted.

"Well, whatever you told him, it worked," Caitlin continued. "He risked his life to save Cisco and I, thanks to you. Saving me again... without even being there."

"I just brought out what was already inside of him," Barry told her modestly.

Caitlin smiled. "You seem to have that effect on a lot of people," she murmured.

Barry laughed a little and she tilted her head. "What is it?"

"It just turns out being in here isn't so different from being out there," Barry said.

Caitlin swallowed. "Except we aren't together," she reminded him softly. "And I can't hug you anymore."

Barry lowered the phone slightly, glancing over his shoulder as the security camera panned away from the two of them. Then he lifted his hand to the glass. Caitlin sighed a little, knowing that was the best they could do... until his hand started to vibrate and phased through the separation.

Her eyes widened and she quickly lifted her hand to his. He interlocked their fingers, smiling tearfully. "It's not a hug," he said.

"No," Caitlin agreed, leaning forward and kissing his fingertips. "But it's just what I needed."

 **Author's Note: OKAY soooo, what did you guys think?! Is she pregnant?! What's gonna happen?**


	12. 4x12

Caitlin's hands were shaking. She could feel her pulse in her ears. Her brain had turned to static and white noise. All because of one small, insignificant piece of plastic in her hands.

 _She was pregnant._

"Ohhhh my God," Caitlin squeaked. "OhmyGod ohmyGod ohmyGod."

She took the slowest, deepest breath possible, before sprinting out of the bathroom, grabbing her coat, and making for STAR Labs.

The drive over didn't calm her down much, and Iris looked up in surprise and mild alarm as Caitlin slid into the room, hair a mess and without any makeup on. "Iris," she gasped, panting for breath. "Iris I'm- I'm pregnant."

Iris' eyes blew up to the size of small planets. "Oh my gosh," she muttered, grabbing Caitlin by the arm and dragging her to her office so they could have a little more privacy if any of the guys walked in. "You got a test?"

Caitlin nodded, gulping for air. "I finally worked up the courage to do it this morning. I barely slept last night, Iris. I really wanted to wait until Barry was out, until everything settled down but I... I just couldn't take the not knowing."

Iris nodded, rubbing her arm. "What're you going to do?" she asked. "Are you going to tell Barry?"

Caitlin put her head in her hands. "I have to eventually, don't I? I mean, if I wait to long he's going to be able to see it."

"You've got some time before then, honey," Iris told her soothingly.

Suddenly, Caitlin burst into tears. "He's- he's not gonna be here for- for any of it," she sobbed. "F-for the first ultrasound, and it's f-first kick..."

Iris put her arms around her friend and held her, rocking her slightly back and forth. "It's going to be okay," she whispered, rubbing Caitlin's back. "I know that this is totally overwhelming and that your scared. Honestly, I am too. I miss Barry and it's so unfair that he has to be stuck behind bars while you have to go through all of this. But Caitlin- you're _not_ alone. And we are going to get Barry out of jail. If anything, this should just make you more determined. You and Barry deserve to have a happily ever after, or at least to be together to raise and grow with your new child."

Caitlin nodded, shutting her eyes and resting her cheek on Iris' shoulder.

"But just think!" Iris continued, a smile coloring her voice. "You're going to be a mother, Caitlin!"

Caitlin let out a tearful laugh, pulling back and wiping her eyes. "It's pretty amazing, right?" she whispered, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Yeah," Iris agreed, rubbing her shoulder. "It really is."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin had been planning to head over to Iron Heights at her normal 1:30 slot to give Barry the news, but instead, he contacted STAR Labs.

"So, Barry asked you to ask us to get this guy out of prison?" she confirmed, pulling up the profile of the man Barry called Big Sir (who's name was really Dave) on the STAR Labs screen.

"Barry got close to this guy who says he's innocent," Joe explained. "It was a case of mistaken identity."

"Well, from what I could find out from CCPN's archives... Dave's case _does_ sound a bit suspect," Iris said, looking down at her computer. "Fifteen years ago he was found guilty of shooting a guard, but there was no apparent motive."

"Only one eyewitness," Harry added.

"Studies have shown that lineup composition, verbal and nonverbal cues can all lead to unintended false identifications," Caitlin agreed.

"I mean, this is all just _fantastic_ ," Ralph spoke up. "But we're... not really gonna do this."

"Yeah, I mean, we've already got a lot on our plate just trying to free _one_ innocent man," Cisco agreed.

"We've kind of hit a wall," Caitlin said, sighing. "And as much as it pains me there's not that much we can do right now."

"But we're not going to get through the wall if we're working on this," Joe argued.

"It's just one case," Iris said.

Harry shook his head. "It's a case that we _have_ to take. Allen has made one request of us since he was incarcerated- no requests that even involve himself. We have to take this case."

"It's unsettling how convincing you can be sometimes," Cisco deadpanned.

"I got a plate match on the Chevelle," Joe said, looking down at his phone. "It's registered to a perp that has multiple breaking and entering priors. Silbert Rundean."

"Why does _every_ villain in this city have a name that sounds like it came straight out of comic book?" Iris asked, squinting in confusion.

"He must go by something for short," Caitlin said.

"Syl," Ralph suggested. "Toby." He snapped triumphantly. "Birdie."

Caitlin frowned, trying to figure out how he had gotten there.

"Anyway," Joe sighed. "I guess I'll go follow up this lead. You guys see what you can dig up here?"

"West and West, on the case," Iris agreed, giving him a high five and sliding into her chair.

 **Flash!**

Somewhat remarkably, it seemed that Silbert Rundean happened to also be the newest meta to plague Central City. Unfortunately, Cisco, Joe and Ralph didn't know that as they went to his apartment to ask him some questions.

At first, the man seemed perfectly friendly. He agreed to let the three of them come in and smiled as they admired his expansive collection of model cars, planes, and other objects.

That was before Joe brought up Mercury Labs. Silbert's jaw went tight, before his spun and shot a yellowish-golden light out of his fist. A small gun, resting on his desk, blew up to normal size and Silbert raised it, pointing it toward the three in his room.

The first blast was at Joe, who just had time to throw himself to the ground before his head would have been blown off. Then Silbert fired at Ralph and Cisco, who dodged out of the way. The glass display case they were standing next to exploded, and by the time they had shaken the glass off of them Silbert was making a running jump for the window.

Joe ran to the window and peered outside in time to see Silbert touch down, a parachute fluttering to the ground. "Cisco!" he called. "Get us to the alley!"

Quickly, the three of them leapt through a breach, but Silbert was gone. "What?" Cisco asked, looking around in bewilderment. "He wasn't that quick, was he?"

Joe told them to search one end of the alley while he checked out the streets. As he was getting into his car, he saw Silbert's bald head appearing from around the corner. "Guys, he's here!" he yelled, diving out of the car a second before the entire thing shrank to matchbox size.

"Hey, hold it right there!" Ralph ordered, he and Cisco running forward.

Suddenly, Silbert shot out his hands and captured Ralph and Cisco in glowing yellow circles. The next thing they knew...

They were tiny.

 **Flash!**

"This..." Harry muttered. "Is ridiculous."

He, Joe and Caitlin were all bended over a STAR Labs table, looking down at Ralph and Cisco. "You okay, guys?"

"Are we doing okay?" Cisco echoed, tiny hands on tiny hips. Even his voice was tiny, about a half-octave higher than normal. "Are we doing okay?! Does it look like we're doing okay?! We're TWO INCHES TALL, CAITLIN!"

Make that a full octave higher than normal. Caitlin winced.

"Yeah, I'm like... Cisco-Sized, now," Ralph said, and if he had been bigger Caitlin would have been able to see the smirk on his face. "Is this how you always see the world?"

"Okay, that's really funny man," Cisco snapped. "I guess your body just finally shrunk down to a size that's _proportional to your brain!_ "

"Ralph, have you tried just... stretching back to normal sized?" Caitlin asked.

"Uh..." Ralph's middle section began grow, but then it abruptly snapped back into place. "Ah! My back! Jeez..."

"Okay, you know what, maybe I can breach us out of here," Cisco suggested, thrusting out his hand and opening up a breach.

Except, a second after he jumped through it, he appeared two inches away and smacked into the coffee cup that was lying on the table. "I... really thought it was gonna go farther than that," he muttered, looking embarrassed.

Harry's mouth pinched. "You're no less annoying at that size," he told them sourly.

They ended up putting Ralph and Cisco in the Lego scale-model of Central City they had created when Savitar was going to kill Iris. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to work while they figured out how to get Cisco and Ralph big again. At least it would keep Iris from stepping on Ralph again, which had left both Iris and Caitlin (who had to pluck him off the bottom of her shoe) a bit squeamish.

A couple hours later they were faced with a new problem. It turned out that Silbert had stolen some of the dwarf star alloy, the kind used in Ray's atom suit, and had had it on him when he boarded the bus that had been hit by the Dark Matter when Barry came out of the speed force. By repurposing the Speed Bazooka, Harry had tried to un-shrink Ralph and Cisco.

Instead, it had completely destabilized their molecules, meaning that they would only have ten hours before they exploded.

They didn't take the new very well, but at least they were killing two birds with one stone. If they could capture Silbert, not only would they take down a metahuman (and a bus meta), but they would hopefully get him to confess to killing the security guard that Big Sir was convicted of murdering.

Through all of this (plus the new complication of Cecile suddenly having telepathic powers, most likely caused by her current phase in her pregnancy) Caitlin still hadn't made it over to prison to see Barry. She hadn't wanted to go without news on their attempt to get Big Sir out of prison... and in reality, she was dreading going at all.

How was Barry going to react? She was pregnant with their first (and who knew? Maybe even _only_ ) child, and he wasn't with her. She knew that it was hard enough as it was for him to keep his moral and his optimism up. What would happen if he knew how much he was missing?

In short, she couldn't tell him. Not yet.

 **Flash!**

It didn't take long to figure out that there was no way to un-shrink Ralph and Cisco without tricking Silbert into doing it for them.

As Caitlin hurried to get her jacket on, Iris grabbed her arm. "Look, Caitlin," she said seriously. "This is... really dangerous."

Caitlin frowned at her. "Of course it is, Iris! We're fighting a metahuman. It's always dangerous."

"No but..." Iris bit her lip. "It's not just _you_ anymore, you know?"

Caitlin squinted, and Iris hurried to continue. "It's not just you," she repeated. "You're pregnant- you have someone else besides yourself to look after. If you die, so does your unborn baby."

"Are you benching me?" Caitlin asked, bewildered.

Iris hesitated. "I just... I know that Barry would kill me if anything happened to you. But he would _doubly_ kill me if he knew that I had let you go into danger with your child on the line."

Caitlin gaped at her. "This isn't your choice to make!" she protested. "We don't have Barry to help us anymore, Iris. Or Ralph, or Cisco! In case you hadn't noticed, you and Harry don't have powers."

"No," Iris admitted. "But we've got guns. And yes, it is my choice to make. I am the leader of this team and I'm telling you that you need to stay here. Besides, you need to work on the cure to stop Ralph and Cisco from exploding. If this doesn't work, they don't have much time."

Caitlin sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Fine," she muttered, turning away and heading for her lab.

Twenty minutes later, Iris and Harry had to abandon their van because Silbert had blown up a toy car and thrown it at them. He had also spotted Cisco and Ralph, flying overhead on Cisco's drone, and had shot them down from the sky.

"How's the cure coming?" Harry demanded.

"It's not ready!" Caitlin replied, hurrying from one computer to another. "The boys only have on minute before they go subatomic!"

"I don't want to explode!" Ralph wailed.

"No," Harry agreed. "So it's time to go to plan B."

He ran out from behind his cover, firing two shots with the intention to miss. Silbert turned around. "I'm gonna shrink you to the subatomic level," he threatened angrily.

Harry smirked. "You'll have to catch me first."

He raised his gun again, but Silbert was faster, sending two streams of golden light toward Harry's chest.

For a second, it seemed like nothing had happened. Then Ralph and Cisco suddenly bloomed into the air, full size. Then, a second later, Iris fired the Boot onto Silbert's neck, dampening his powers.

The Team came back triumphant, but the mood wouldn't last long. Silbert refused to cooperate. He wouldn't admit to killing the guard, and the appeal for Big Sir fell through.

They may have succeeded in stopping the metahuman, but they had also failed. Big Sir wasn't getting out of prison any time soon.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin finally went to visit Barry after everything with Silbert went down. His face, like always, lit up like a spark when he saw her.

"Hi!" he said as soon as he had sat down and picked up the phone.

Caitlin peered at him. Even if he _was_ happy to see her, he didn't look like man who had just been told that he he would have to let down his friend. "Hello yourself," she replied. "What's going on? You seem happy."

Barry glanced around and leaned in. "You know how you guys couldn't get Big Sir out?"

Caitlin nodded. "I really am sorry about that, Barry, we tried everything. I even brought Frost out to try and scare him into talking. It didn't work."

Caitlin didn't mention that after Frost had come out, she had been so suddenly dizzy that she had had to sit down. She was concerned, and didn't know exactly what was going on, but she hadn't told anyone. The last thing she needed, with Barry still incarcerated, was Iris having another reason to bench her.

Barry kept on grinning. "Yeah, but it's all fine!" he exclaimed in a whisper. "I ran him out. Last night."

"You _what_?" Caitlin gasped, though a smile was starting to spread on her face, too. "You... ran him out?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "When the camera turned away I grabbed him and ran him all the way to China. That's where he wanted to go- he wants to live with the monks. And now he can!"

"Oh, Barry, that's great," Caitlin said happily. "I'm so glad."

He nodded. "So what's been going on with you guys? Other than stopping Silbert. How are you?"

She opened her mouth, heart starting to thump. She had to tell him- she _had_ to. It wasn't fair to him that she was keeping this a secret.

But looking at his wide, sparkling eyes and his big grin... she hadn't seen him this happy since he came out of the Speed Force. She couldn't tell him; not yet. She couldn't break the hope on his face that everything was okay.

"Oh, yeah, it's been great!" she said instead, putting on a smile. "I mean, not _great_ , you're not there. But we're managing. We got Silbert- that was a big win for us. And Harry is determined to outsmart the Thinker. He still thinks this is all one big plan... I mean, what are the chances of the exact person you want us to convict being the newest metahuman we have to stop?"

"Yeah, that's pretty crazy," Barry agreed, frowning thoughtfully. "I'm sure you guys will figure it out, tho-"

The alarm buzzed, signaling that their time was up. The guard called in a bored voice that they had to finish up, and Caitlin let out a sigh.

"It'd be nice if we had more than ten minutes," she said, pulling a face.

Barry smiled ruthfully. "Look, if I learned anything from today it's that there's always another way to solve a problem," he told her, putting his hand to the glass.

Caitlin pressed her's to the glass, too, opposite of his. With all the eyes on them, she was sure that he wasn't going to phase through, but it would have been nice. She could use a good, solid Barry-hug right about now.

"Love you," she told him, kissing her fingertips and then putting them back on the glass.

"I love you, too," Barry told her, mirroring the action. "See you tomorrow?"

She nodded, and turned to go. Maybe tomorrow she would be brave enough to tell him that she was pregnant.

But for now, she would just have to deal with it herself.

 **Author's Note: AHHH when do you think she's gonna tell him?!**

 **Soooo... a lot of that was recap. But at least I'm getting better at recap, right?**


	13. 4x13

**Author's Note: I am SOOOO excited for the end of this chapter OMG OMG OMG :D**

Barry had been sound asleep when they came for him.

He was lying in his cell, curled under the thin blanket he was allowed with his beanie still on, when the sound of footsteps woke him up. The next thing he knew, his door was being unlocked and someone was knocking him unconscious with a swift blow to the head.

When he awoke again, he was still in a cell. But it was different than his last cell. For starters, he could see three other cells facing him, each holding a different, very familiar person.

Mina Chayton, Silbet Rundean, Becky Sharpe and Ramsey Deacon. Four very dangerous metahumans that he and his team had faced over the past few months.

None of them spoke to him, and he stayed silent, too. He had no idea why he was here, where _here_ was, and how much any of the other metahumans knew. Did they know he was the Flash? And did whoever had brought him here know?

His question was answered when none other than Amunet Black was lead into the room by Warden Wolfe. Barry's eyebrows went up in surprise. Wolfe had seemed so nice to him, like he might even believe that Barry was innocent. But it seemed that _he_ had been the one to bring Barry here.

"Here's something you've been wanting for a long time," Wolfe said to Amunet after they went over the other three metas abilities. "A speedster."

Barry got up from his cot and slowly leaned against the wall, staring at them impassively.

"Oh my..." Amunet murmured. She seemed impressed.

"Terms are the same as always," Wolfe said. "Any metas you sell we split the profits even. So. Who would you like?"

Amunet spun away from Barry and turned to face Wolfe, flustered. "Oh! Well... Eeny... meeny... miney... _all of them_!"

 **Flash!**

"Thanks for coming, Cecile. I know Barry isn't too optimistic about the appeal hearing."

Caitlin and Cecile were walking down Iron Heights corridors, headed to see Barry during Caitlin's usual 1:30 slot. Cecile had recently pushed to get an appeal for Barry's conviction, though there wasn't much new evidence revealed since the trail. Caitlin was hopeful, though. She found it easier to be hopeful, and she knew that that's what Barry wanted her to be, even if he himself wasn't putting too much stock in the results from the appeal. She had figured it would be good for him to talk to Cecile and get the hard facts on what was going on and what they were planning to do.

"Don't lose hope, Caitlin, we still have a couple more days to prepare," Cecile reassured her as they walked into the meeting room.

"I know," Caitlin agreed. "But it's not like we've come up with any new ideas for clearing Barry's name."

She took her usual seat as Cecile sighed, glancing up at the room that was divided from them by glass. "Uh, a bigger issue is we don't seem to have Barry!"

"Mrs. Snow-Allen!" a voice from behind Caitlin and Cecile said.

Caitlin stood up and turned around. "Warden Wolfe," she greeted the stern-looking black man.

"Unfortunately you won't be able to see your husband today- he was in an altercation."

Immediately, a spike of fear jabbed at Caitlin's gut. She knew, of course, how dangerous a prison could be, especially without Big Sir there to protect Barry any more. But at the same time Barry was a speedster. She hadn't really expected anything to happen.

"An altercation?" Cecile asked for her, staring at him in disbelief.

"A prison yard fight," Wolfe confirmed.

"What? Is he okay?" Caitlin demanded.

"He's fine, he's fine," Wolfe reassured her, and Caitlin let out a sigh of relief. "He wasn't harmed and he wasn't at fault. But per Iron Height's protocol, everyone involved is in isolation."

Caitlin was shocked. She hadn't expected anything like this to happen, especially not so close to Barry's appeal. "Is he safe there?" was all she could think to ask.

"Oh, he couldn't be safer," Wolfe told her calmly. "Actually it's a pretty common occurrence. The important thing to know is that he's in good hands. You can rest easy at night."

"Thank you, Warden," Caitlin sighed, shaking Wolfe's hand.

"Yes!" Cecile broke in, her smile strained and sudden. "Thank you."

Wolfe turned and walked away, leaving the two women alone. Caitlin turned to Cecile. "What's wrong?" she asked suspiciously.

Before Cecile told her anything, she called an emergency meeting back at STAR Labs. For maybe the hundredth time since Barry's incarceration, Caitlin was missing the ability to have him speed her places in seconds. She waited impatiently for the Team to assemble, and then for Cecile to tell them what she had heard when she read Wolfe's mind.

"He's trafficking metahumans?" Joe asked incredulously when she finished. "Is everybody crazy in this town?"

Cisco huffed a laugh. "He always did look smug in those Italian wool suits." He pulled up short, eyes widening. "Oh my God he's literally a Wolfe in Sheeps clothing."

Caitlin shook her head. "It's kind of the perfect partnership. I mean, Amunet deals with metas and Wolfe has a prison full of them." She sighed. It seemed that once again Amunet was going to ruin her life.

"And him being the warden, he can make some inmates disappear without raising any eyebrows," Joe agreed. "I'm gonna go talk to Singh."

"And say what?" Iris asked, eyeing him dubiously. "That your pregnant girlfriend with gestational psychic powers told you?"

"Yeah, Joe, Singh's just going to think that you're a father desperate to get his son out of prison," Cecile agreed.

"Well, if we don't figure out something before midnight that's exactly what I'm going to say," Joe argued. "Hey- where's Harry?"

"He can't help," Cisco sighed. "He went to Earth-2; he's checking in on Jesse."

"Great," Iris muttered. "Well, we're out of legal options, and Cisco can't breach Barry out of the meta wing so... how do we stop this?"

"Hey guys!" Ralph called, striding into the Cortex. "I got your alert. Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, Ralph," Caitlin assured him.

Ralph shook his head. "No, it's not okay! I ran into this old business partner of mine. This guy- he's a big, fat creep."

Caitlin's eyes went wide as Ralph's stomach ballooned.

"He's always sticking his nose in my business," Ralph continued, nose stretching accordingly. "And he's so shady. He's got these beady eyes and this greedy smile. He's just a real two-faced rat from head to toe."

His voice suddenly adopted a Scottish accent as the rest of his face transformed. The team eyed him in amazement, horror, and some disgust, and Ralph... or, rather, the transformed-Ralph, eyed them in confusion. "What?" he asked, frowning. "He's a two-faced rat, yes."

"Really?" Cecile managed, eyes wide.

"What's wrong with my voice?" Ralph asked, blinking a couple of times. "Do you hear that?"

"Um..." Cisco muttered, pressing a button on Caitlin's computer.

Ralph's eyes went wide. "That's him!" he proclaimed, pointing to the screen, which was just playing the feed from the Cortex. "Right there. That's him- d'ya see him? Right there! That's him! That's... him..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly realized that it wasn't a picture or video of Earl... but live footage from the Cortex. "It's me," he whispered. "It's me! Why is that me?!"

"You somehow willed your body to shape-shift into Earl's appearance," Caitlin said wonderingly. "It seems like your cells can do a lot more than just elongate."

"Oh, _brilliant_!" Ralph-Earl cried. "How do you undo it?! How do you undo this?"

Cisco shrugged. "Control-Z?"

For a second, Ralph's entire body vibrated. Then he shook his head and his face was back to normal.

Iris snapped her fingers. "Guys! I think I just figured out how to stop Warden Wolfe! If Ralph could shape-shift into Earl here he could easily shape-shift into Wolfe and meet Amunet before midnight."

"And call off the whole deal before it ever even happens!" Cecile finished excitedly.

Everyone turned to look at Ralph. He just looked confused. "I can call off what now?"

 **Flash!**

While Barry was planning his escape from the metahuman prison, Ralph was working with Cisco and Caitlin to try and figure out how to take on the form of Warden Wolfe. It wasn't going well.

"This is impossible," Ralph grumbled after his fifth attempt, which caused his face to twist, as Cisco put it, into the likeness of the painting from IT that comes to life. "Why don't we just gift wrap Barry, hand him to Amunet, and call it a day?"

"No, Ralph, it's not impossible," Caitlin lectured, pacing in a slow circle around his chair. "Your polymerized cells are linked to your thoughts. You should be able to change into anyone you think of. Just like when you squeezed your belly into abs."

"Okay, first off, I have been working out so this is all natural now," Ralph countered. "And second- that was just some abs. This is an entire person!"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, mostly in response to the first comment.

Teacher Cisco took the stand next. "When I first learned how to Vibe," he said, walking slowly toward Ralph with a classic lecture-face on. "I had to learn how to clear my mind of all other thoughts. You think you can do that?"

"Okay, yeah," Ralph said dubiously. "Alright. I'll try."

" _Do better then try_ ," Caitlin ordered, glaring over at him. "My husband's life is in your hands. We are all counting on you."

Cisco nodded his agreement and roughly patted Ralph's arm, before walking back to the front of the room to stand next to Caitlin. He nudged her. "Hey," he muttered. "We're gonna get him out, okay? Don't you worry."

She nodded, sending him a faint smile. "Thanks, Cisco. I appreciate it."

"Alright!" Cisco called over to Ralph. "Here we go!"

"Be Wolfe," Caitlin told him.

"Be Wolfe," Ralph agreed, nodding to himself as he wiggled his shoulders and straightened his spine. "Be the Wolfe. The Big Bad Wolfe."

The two of them held their breaths, but Ralph had done it. Caitlin held up a mirror to his new, transformed face, and he grinned. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Sweet chiseled cheekbones, I did it! Wow. Maybe I can save Barry."

He got up and immediately fell forward, onto his face. "Ugh. A little help here?"

Caitlin nodded, satisfied. "Next we need to work on his motor skills."

 **Flash!**

Unbeknownst to the rest of the Team, Barry was doing pretty alright getting himself out of prison. He had managed to use his knowledge of forensics to concoct an element that ate through the metal of his cell lock, and the bolts holding down the vent that led out. He was currently slogging through a couple centimeters of water, deep in a sewer, with a ragtag group of metahumans that ranged from criminal to rude-but-reformed.

The Team, of course, had no way to know this, so they went ahead with their plan. Ralph, in the slightly ditzy form of Warden Wolfe, headed to a bar to talk to Norvock, Amunet's right-hand man.

The meeting went well... at first. Then Ralph's skin morphed disguise began to melt. He, being Ralph, refused to let his friends down and didn't tell them that he was having this certain complication.

As Barry tried to get some of the more violent metas from murdering the plumber that they came across repairing the sewers while they were escaping, Ralph stepped into Amunet's office. And as he knocked out the poor plumber to make sure no one killed him, Ralph's plan began to go sideways again.

Amunet didn't believe that he really needed to call off the deal. She didn't believe that he really was Warden Wolfe. And when he finally _did_ convince her, his ears began to slide down his face. In seconds, the Ralph Dibney looked the same as always, and not at _all_ like Warden Wolfe

"Ralph, get out of there," Iris ordered.

"Uhhhh..." Ralph muttered, edging for the door. Then he turned and bolted, heading straight through the boxing arena and ducking a spray of metal shards from Amunet's glove.

By the time he got back, Iris was deep in a conversation with Caitlin and Cisco.

"There has to be another way," Cisco said.

"There isn't," Iris replied. "There is _one_ card left to play. We go to Iron Heights, and stop the deal before it happens."

Caitlin and Cisco exchanged glances. "You're talking about fighting Amunet, plus a prison-full of armed meta-guards, on _their_ turf," Caitlin argued.

"This is the only option we have left!" Iris cried. "You guys can do this."

Cisco nodded and let out a breath. "Let's go," he said to Caitlin. "Ralph, c'mon."

"Yeah, uh... maybe not this time," Ralph mumbled, walking forward into the room.

Everyone looked at him incredulously. "What? Why?" Iris asked.

He shrugged. "You'll have a better chance saving Barry without me."

"Ralph, you know that isn't true," Caitlin argued.

"I just screwed everything up. You know what could happen if I screw it up again?"

Cisco walked up to him and took his arm. "Oookay, maybe we just need to talk this out with Mr. Hallway?"

"Look, a talk's not gonna fix my head," Ralph sighed, shaking his head. "I just can't do it this time, guys. I'm sorry I let you down."

He headed toward the door, ignoring Cisco's calls for him to stop.

Caitlin sighed and grabbed Cisco's arm as he started to follow Ralph. "I got this," she told him. "You guys start planning our prison break."

 **Flash!**

"Ralph?" Caitlin called quietly as she pushed open the unlocked door to Ralph's old office and stepped inside. "Ralph, you in here?"

She was answered by a nasally snore and pulled it a face. It seemed he _was_ in here. And he was sleeping. Caitlin rolled her eyes and turned on the light, shutting the door behind her.

"Ack!" Ralph groaned, throwing his arms up over his eyes. "The light. It burns!"

"Alright, come on. Get up." Caitlin sighed, walking briskly over to him and feeling strangely like a mother. That reminded her that she _was_ , in fact, a mother now, which sent a tingle up her spine.

"I can't," Ralph mumbled. "I'm dead."

"Okay, I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the reason you _literally_ fell apart at the bar."

Ralph picked up a nearly empty gin bottle from the floor by the neck. "I told Cisco that a talk from him isn't gonna help. So a talk from _you_ isn't gonna help either, Caitlin."

Caitlin shrugged. "Okay. I'll get somebody else."

She walked farther into the room and grabbed the bottle of alcohol from his hand, smashing against the counter. Using the jagged edge from the broken bottle-neck she slit the skin of her palm, wincing.

A moment later, the spot frosted over and Caitlin transformed into Frost. She turned around and smirked at Ralph, who was slowly sitting up, looking alarmed. "Hello, stretch."

"They call me Man who Elongates," Ralph peeped.

"Hm," Frost snorted, stomping over to him. "They should call you pathetic." She grabbed Ralph by the lapels and dragged him off the couch. "So you screwed up. Get over it."

"You are a mean lady," Ralph gulped.

"I'm just telling you what you need to hear," Frost shot back.

"Yeah well I'm not gonna miss you when you leave," Ralph grumbled.

Frost released him, huffing. "Leave? Is that what this is about?"

Ralph shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, yeah! Everybody leaves Ralph Dibney eventually. That's how this whole thing works. I screw off big time and they take off." He fell back onto the couch. "This time though, the people who are gonna leave are actually my friends. The first ones I've had in a _really_ long time."

"That's stupid," Frost grumbled.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't expect you to understand," Ralph sighed. "You kidnap and stab all your friends."

"Right," Frost agreed. "I'm the _queen_ of letting these people down. But you know what? They're still here. No matter how much I disappoint them, they still show up for him. I don't really understand it, but I think it's apart of this whole... friends thing." She sat down, tucking one leg under her body and slinging her arm over the back of the couch. "So. Unless you do something worse than kidnap and/or stab them... I think you're gonna be just fine."

"You really think so?" Ralph asked, looking surprised.

Frost gave him a remarkably earnest look. " _Yes_ , I do."

Ralph grinned, nodding. "You know, that actually wasn't that bad of a pep talk."

Frost shrugged. "Well, it's your turn next time. If I ever go full villain, you can give me the lame heart-to-heart." She paused. "Though... you may have to fight Barry for it."

Ralph didn't seem to hear much of what she said. "Full villain..." he muttered, before leaping to his feet. "I've got it! I've gotta go see a girl about a guy. Thank you Frosty Oprah!"

With that, he ran out of the room.

 **Flash!**

Barry and the four other metas had just made it out of prison.

"Do everyone's powers work?" Mina asked.

Killgore grinned. "I can smell all the tech within 5 miles of here," he confirmed.

Barry vibrated a hand, just to make sure. "Yep."

"Thank you, Barry!" Becky cried. "You saved us."

"You did good, boy," Silbert agreed, nodding.

A second later, a power-dampening boot was being shot around Barry's ankle. He glanced up, shocked, to see Warden Wolfe standing with about half a dozen meta-guards, all of them armed and at the ready.

"Not good enough, it seems," Wolfe said. "Everyone back inside and you'll live to see another day."

"The only one who should be worried about surviving right now is you," Mina countered angrily. Her eyes shut and they could hear the sound of an eagle faintly in the distance. Killgore's eyes glowed purple and the tech around the room short circuited. He, Mine and Silbert stepped forward.

"There's no cavalry," Killgore said. "No one's gonna see what happened. Just you and us, Wolfe."

"You want revenge?" Wolfe asked, seeming remarkably calm considering the circumstances. "Understandable. Just one thing. If you're thirsty for vengeance, you might wanna start with the Flash."

Barry's blood ran cold. He knew. How did he know? He couldn't have possibly known before all of this had started; he would have said something to Amunet. The Flash would have been worth _much_ more than a normal speedster.

The four faces of the other metahumans turned to him. "Barry Allen is the Flash," Wolfe continued. "The same man that put you behind bars. And who will no doubt recapture you after you escape. That was probably his plan all along."

"Is all of that true?" Mina demanded.

"I'm gonna squash you so quick you don't even know what hit you," Silbert threatened, stalking forward.

"No," Killgore countered. "Not quick."

Suddenly, a volt of electricity shot up from the dampening-boot and into Barry's leg. He cried out in pain and fell to one knee, then to his hands.

"Let's take our time," Killgore hissed. "The Flash.. on his knees. I suppose there is justice after all."

"Let's see how fast he can run at the size of a flea," Silbert suggested darkly, preparing to shoot Barry with his powers. Barry shrank back, readying himself to be miniaturized.

"Stop!" Becky yelled, running in front of him. "Stop," she said again, pleadingly.

"What're you doing?" Silbert demanded.

"Deciding who I am," Becky said. "You're not gonna hurt him!"

"Join us, or get out of the way," Mina ordered. "Either way we're taking him.

Becky took a deep breath. "Good luck with that," she said, glaring back at Mina and straightening her spine.

In seconds, Mina had called her eagle statue down from a post somewhere near the jail. It swooped towards them but at the last second the flood lights beamed on, blinding Mina. Instead of hitting Barry or Becky, the eagle crashed into Silbert, who fell over sideways, taking a dumbbell with him. The weight hit Killgore in the face and he went over, too. The other side of the weight knocked into Mina, effectively sending them all to the ground.

"Told ya," Becky shrugged, turning around to smile at Barry.

He nodded at her in thanks, once again in awe of how incredibly powerful a bit of luck could be.

"Shoot the women," Wolfe ordered. "They're no good to us dead."

"They certainly are not!" a new voice spoke up.

For the first time, Wolfe looked afraid. "Amunet," he greeted, lowering his gun a little and turning around. "You're early."

Amunet strode into the little ring of guards, her own henchmen trailing behind her. "And you are exactly as I thought you'd be. A lair. Who's obviously in way over his head. But no matter. I will clean up your mess for you. Step aside boys," she told the meta-guards. "Mommy needs to work."

Becky stepped forward as well, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

Amunet readied her arm, but accidentally shot off a smoke bomb. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," she groaned as she began to fall sideways. "Not again."

As she went down she fired a string of metal shards. They each imbedded themselves in the guards, and soon Becky and Barry were the only two left standing.

Barry looked at her in amazement, before an explosion of blue light lit up the foggy air behind them. They were both knocked back, and were horrified to see none other that Clifford DeVoe floating through the air towards them on his chair.

The three metas that had tried to attack Barry were slowly getting to their feet. "Our powers won't work," Silbert realized.

"Mine either," said Killgore angrily. "He must have blasted us with something."

"Who the heck are you?!" Mina demanded.

"I am your destiny," DeVoe, wearing the face of Dominic, said.

A moment later, four arms came out of his chair and attached themselves to Becky, Mina, Silbert and Ramsey. Their backs arched and Barry could only watch in horror as golden electrical currents began to flow through the thick cords connected to the chair and to the claws on their heads.

A second later DeVoe's head slumped down to his chest and Mina turned, smiled creepily at Barry, then collapsed.

In what felt like slow motion, as Barry began to race towards the metas, Ramsey collapsed to the ground, followed by Silbert.

"Barry!" Becky screamed, reaching out for him.

But he was too late. She, too, was released from the claw, and transformed into the newest body of DeVoe.

He could do nothing to stop it.

 **Flash!**

When Cisco and Frost finally breached into the meta area of Iron Heights, they found the guards strewn around the floor, either unconscious or dead. Wolfe was dead, DeVoe having sucked his life away, and Amunet had run off. DeVoe himself (herself?) was gone, vanished back into whatever lair he went to by use of his chair.

"What happened?" Cisco breathed.

"DeVoe," Barry sighed. He looked tired, shoulders slumped.

"Well," Frost sighed. She could feel Caitlin screamed inside of her, trying to shove her way to the forefront, but she knew once that happened there would be a lot of tears and hugs and she had work to do. She crouched down and froze the book on Barry's ankle, breaking it to pieces. "Party's over. Let's get out of here."

"I'm staying," Barry called after her.

Frost turned, and one of her eyes turned brown. Caitlin was fighting hard. Cisco shook his head incredulously. "Barry-"

"I was only willing to do this to try and break everybody out," Barry told them. "Wolfe was gonna sell us but.. that's not gonna happen now. I'm staying. Until you find a way to get me out of here legally. It's the only way I'll ever feel free- you know that."

Frost melted away, and Caitlin was left standing in the courtyard. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened but she only cared about one thing. "Barry," she gasped, barreling into his arms.

He buried his face in his hair, eyes slipping shut. But even as he held her, sirens began to wail.

"Caitlin," Cisco said reluctantly. "We have to go."

Caitlin nodded, pulling back slowly and looking into Barry's eyes. "There's- there's something I need to tell you," she said, her heart hammering. But she knew that if she didn't say it now, she might never. And she needed to tell him.

Barry smiled gently at her. "Tell me tomorrow," he murmured. "1:30."

"No!" Caitlin cried. "I need to tell you now."

Cisco was dragging her away, half of him already through the breach. He didn't hear what she said next.

"Barry," Caitlin said, looking straight into his eyes. "I'm pregnant."

 **Flash!**

It was an unexpected turn of events (and a flair of genius) that got Barry out of prison.

Ralph had had the brilliant idea to use his new morphing ability to transform himself into none other than Clifford DeVoe, original face and all. Cecile used him as her secret weapon during Barry's appeal, and the Judge could not say no.

There would be a lot of questions. People were still incredibly suspicious, but what else could it be but the real man? As "DeVoe" said, stranger things had happened in Central City then a man previously thought dead actually being alive.

Joe enlisted Caitlin to help him set up the surprise party for Barry. She was trembling nearly the entire time she chopped vegetables and hung up streamers. Barry hadn't had a chance to reply after she had told him that she was pregnant. All she had had time to see was the confusion on his face before Cisco dragged her through the breach and into STAR Labs.

He hadn't said a word about her news, so she assumed, with relief, that he hadn't heard her. He had already been halfway through the breach at the time, hurrying to leave before the sirens got any closer.

Caitlin had planned to go to Iron Heights the next day, 1:30, as promised. But then the appeal had gone through, and worked, and Barry was being prepared to come home. Everything had been crazy.

She hadn't gone. She hadn't talked to him- or even _seen_ him- since the night at the prison. And she was absolutely _terrified_ to hear what he was going to say.

The doorbell rang. Caitlin dropped her knife with a clatter. "I'll get it!" she squeaked, power walking toward the door as Joe watched her with a bemused look on his face.

It was Barry. His face was a wide array of emotions when he saw her but the first thing he did was step forward and gather her up in a hug.

She breathed him in, the unfamiliar feeling of his beard tickling her forehead. This was the calm before the storm, something that Barry realized too as he began to pull back.

"Hey," he whispered, his eyes wide. "We really, _really_ need to talk."

Caitlin nodded breathlessly and he took her hand, leading her upstairs as Joe watched them in confusion.

"Tell me it again," he pleaded with her, sitting down on his old bed and pulling her down next to him. "Tell me it again, and let me answer this time. _Please_."

Caitlin took a shallow breath, trying to stay calm. "I'm- I'm- I'm pregnant."

An enormous grin spread across Barry's face. He let out a whoop and tackled Caitlin to the bed, kissing her all over her face. She squealed, surprised with the sudden outburst of affection, but was soon laughing.

"You're pregnant!" Barry cried, bundling her in his arms and burying his scratchy face into her neck. She giggled at the tickling sensation his facial hair caused. "We're gonna be parents, Caitlin! WE'RE GONNA BE PARENTS!"

In a couple of minutes, his euphoria had calmed down to something more manageable and he sat with his arm around her, the room comfortably silent.

"I actually found out last week," Caitlin finally said, knowing that she would feel guilty until she told him. "I just... I didn't want to tell you. I know how hard it was for you to be in prison, but you were putting on such a brave face. I wasn't sure if either of us could handle it if you knew that I was pregnant and you couldn't be with me."

Barry nodded, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah, I understand. But Caitlin- you shouldn't have kept this to yourself. You should have told me."

She let out a shaky breath. "I told Iris," she offered weakly. "So I wasn't completely alone."

He cracked a smile. "Oh boy, you told my sister before you told me? I'm _never_ gonna live that one down."

They heard the sound of knocking at the door and Caitlin let out a sigh. "We should go downstairs," she said, standing up reluctantly and tugging him with her.

"Are we going to tell everyone?" Barry asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Yes," Caitlin told him. "But not tonight. Tonight is about celebrating you and our success in outsmarting DeVoe, even if it's just this once."

Barry nodded. "Okay," he agreed, leaning down to give her a long, lingering kiss. "When you're ready, then."

Then they walked downstairs to meet their family.

 **Author's Note: So he knowwwws... crazy! When should they tell the rest of their team? I guess we'll find out soon enough :)**


	14. 4x14

**Author's Note: I am sooooo excited for 4x15 I just want it to comeeee...**

 **In all honesty I can remember what happens in this episode so that's fun XD**

It was nice waking up in Barry's arms again.

They couldn't sleep in late. After the party at the Wests the night before, where they had come to the conclusion that DeVoe was hunting down only bus metas (which included Ralph), Joe had told Barry that Singh wanted him back at the CCPD. Barry had been overjoyed, and even agreed to starting work up the very next morning.

They had gone back home, the two of them, finally. There, Barry had seen the small plastic stick that had told Caitlin she was pregnant. He teared up, which made her tear up, and soon both of them were sniffling and rubbing her stomach. It was strange and beautiful, all at the same time.

Caitlin had curled up on the bed, eyes heavy, as Barry shaved. She was relieved when he came back into the room and kissed her and it wasn't prickly. They had fallen asleep in record time, curled up in each others arms. They woke up the same way.

Caitlin stretched a little, Barry's arm heavy across her waist as she fumbled on her bedside table to shut off the alarm. Barry groaned. "Why did I agree to work this early?" he mumbled. "Why didn't I become a night guard?"

"A night guard?" Caitlin asked, nose wrinkling in drowsy confusion. The bed was so warm. It was chilly out. She wanted to stay in bed.

"Mhm," Barry agreed, turning onto his side and snuggling her closer. "I could sleep all day."

"That kind of logic can only be found at 6 am," Caitlin giggled, sitting up and running her fingers through her hair.

Barry tugged at her, pouting. "Staaaay..." he groaned.

"You stay in bed," Caitlin told him, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I'll go make some coffee and toast. I think we've got a loaf or two in the cupboard- how many do you want?"

"Mmm... ten," Barry told her.

"You got it," Caitlin agreed with a smile, rolling out of bed and pulling on one of Barry's sweaters.

In a couple of minutes, Barry was finally pulled out of bed by the smell of coffee. He sighed at Caitlin's use of peanut butter instead of butter ("You shush, you know if you don't have protein I have to bring you lunch at 9:30.") but thanked her and ate it anyway.

Unfortunately, their small slice of domestic bliss couldn't last forever. Caitlin quickly found out that Barry was being kept off of his job until people decided he could actually be trusted.

"It's not permanent, is it?" Caitlin asked, concerned, when Barry flashed in and told the Team the news.

"He said it was indefinite."

"They wouldn't have given you you're ID back if it was for good," Caitlin persisted, trying to stay optimistic and logic them out of the situation.

"I mean, who knows," Iris tagged in. "Maybe this is for the best? You need to prove that DeVoe is still alive and you can do that as the Flash."

Barry nodded, lips trying to twitch upward into a smile. The rest of his face wasn't having it, however, so he just continued to look depressed. "Yeah, maybe," he shrugged. "How are we doing with him, by the way?"

"We know that we still have four bus metas left to find," Caitlin told him, gesturing to the white board which was currently pasted with pictures of all the bus metas they had caught already.

"And that DeVoe has absorbed the powers of Killgore, Black Bison, Hazard, Brainstorm and Dwarf Star," Iris added.

"Fallout is safe with Tracy."

"But the Weeper is MIA."

Barry nodded, shoulder's dropping as he stuck his hands into his jeans pockets. "DeVoe must have him."

"Well, that just leaves Ralph," Caitlin sighed, eyebrows crunching in concern.

"Ralph is safe with us," Barry said. "But the other four metas aren't. DeVoe will absolutely kill them and take their powers."

"Why does he need their powers?" Iris asked aloud, knowing there wasn't an answer. "I cannot figure out his endgame."

"I don't know," Barry shrugged. "I just know that these last four metas are the key. That's why we need to find them."

"And find them we will!" Ralph announced, walking into the Cortex holding a cardboard box and closely followed by Cisco.

"Where have you guys been?" Barry asked, frowning.

"A little home away from home, otherwise known as the bus depot," Ralph reported, setting his box down on Iris' side of the desk. "But I taught Cisco here an old trick I learned from my mentor, Colombo." He tapped the box triumphantly. "Lost and found box from meta bus 405."

"Question, for the room," Cisco spoke up. "How did I get stuck doing the buddy system with Ralph?"

"It's... the best way to keep Ralph safe, Cisco," Iris told him.

"Yeah," Ralph agreed, giving him a look. "It's the best way to keep Ralph safe, Cisco."

"Well, clearly you've never had to stay over at an apartment that uses neon beer signs for lamps and a kitchen sink for a shower," Cisco countered as numerous odd and slightly disgusted looks were thrown Ralph's way. "Ralph, I love you, but you sleep on a futon."

"Futons aren't that bad," Caitlin protested.

"It is when it's damp!" Cisco cried, voice cracking.

Iris gave Ralph a weirded out look. "Why is it damp?"

"I sweat a lot when I sleep," Ralph explained, shrugging. Iris and Caitlin both grimaced and shifted away slightly.

Ralph shrugged and looked into the box. "Hey, my retainer!" he cried, pulling it out of an old shoe. "I've been looking for this."

"Heh heh heh, _retainer_ ," Cisco said, laughing maniacally. Ralph stuck the retainer into his mouth, grime and all.

"Okay, you've made your point," Barry admitted. "Not that the point needed to be made. I'll take the next shift."

Cisco looked immensely relieved. "Good man, Barry Allen."

"Really?" Ralph said, pulling something else out of the box. "Who uses CDs anymore?"

Iris plucked the CD from his fingertips. "A musician trying to catch their break!" she theorized. "Izzy Bowen," she read off the CD, before sticking it into one of the computers.

A sort of rock/country song, heavy on the strings, came into the room. Caitlin tilted her head, not terrible apposed to Izzy's sound.

Ralph shut it off before the first few measures could even be heard. "Ugh," he groaned. "Country. Music's tone-deaf step job."

"Alright, can you remember anyone on the bus with a fiddle?" Caitlin asked.

"There was a guy..." Ralph said thoughtfully. "Sitting behind me with a cowboy hat on. Maybe it was him."

"Boy, I sure wish we had a way of finding out," Cisco replied sarcastically.

Caitlin picked up the CD and presented it to him with a wide smile before handing it over.

A couple of moments later, Cisco had vibed the CD and Barry and Ralph were heading out to Izzy's next gig at the Busted Saddle Saloon.

 **Flash!**

Izzy Bowan refused Ralph and Barry's entreats to get to safety with them. In the process she revealed that she had some sort of sound manipulation power, which caused her to be able to create molecular shrapnel, and momentarily deafened Ralph and Barry. Thanks to Barry's speed healing and Ralph's stretching abilities, however, they would be fine within the hour.

Iris put in a search to the satellites and Barry rushed off in the hopes of finding Izzy using his speed. By that evening there was still no luck.

"Satellites been running all day, but it's still not picking up an irregular sound variances," Iris reported to the rest of the Team.

Barry came flashing in at that moment. "I checked the city. I can't find her."

Caitlin's eyebrows went up. "You checked the whole city?!"

"Yeah," Barry replied offhandedly.

Caitlin sighed dreamily. It was moments like these, with his hair ruffled from his cowl and his face shining with sweat that was just so _incredibly_ attractive. These pregnancy hormones were really killing her.

"Look, we have to find her before DeVoe. Her life's on the line!"

"She had another gig this week; I'd doubt she skipped town," Ralph mentioned.

"And how would Dibney PI suggest we find her?" Cisco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, since you asked," Ralph shrugged. "Has anyone checked her website?"

There was an awkward silence in the Cortex before Cisco and Iris, embarrassed, scrambled to do just that.

"Guys, she still in town," Iris confirmed. " 'I just picked up the first round of my next single, love the geniuses at Saloon Sounds.' "

"Alright, Ralph?" Barry said, glancing over at him.

"Take two," Ralph agreed, moving away to get his suit on.

"Cisco, we might need Vibe's help," Barry continued.

Caitlin crossed her arms, looking a bit put out. "Uh, what about Frost?" she asked as the boys headed for the door. "I'm sure she'd love to get some field action. She's been so antsy lately that yesterday afternoon she took over and went to a dojang to start training in taekwondo."

Barry frowned. " _That's_ where you were?"

Caitlin nodded. "Yeah. And then I wasn't feeling well so I laid down and fell asleep."

Barry waved Cisco and Ralph away to go get their suits on and walked over to Caitlin's desk. "Look," he murmured. "You're pregnant now, Cait."

"I'm aware of that, Barry."

Barry smiled against his will at her response. "Yeah, I know. I just feel like... this could be dangerous. We might run into DeVoe; who knows? I don't want anything to happen to you, or the baby."

Caitlin let out a sigh. "I understand that, Barry, I really do. But you can't bench me for nine months. Frost will go crazy!"

Barry still looked unsure. "I dunno, Caitlin," he sighed. "Maybe another time. Right now we don't have time to discuss this, and honestly it's just too dangerous."

He gave her an apologetic smile and flashed out of the room. Caitlin crossed her arms. "I cannot believe him!" she huffed to Iris.

"Trust me, girl, I feel," Iris sighed. "Gender equality has made leaps and bounds but the boys still think they're in charge."

 **Flash!**

They did, in fact, run into DeVoe. Barry, Cisco and Ralph were taken out in less than a minute, but Izzy was actually able to hurt him. Barry was amazed. He had no idea that Izzy was that powerful, and it seemed DeVoe didn't, either.

"So you're trying to tell me that this three-foot-tall chick that tried to kill me is actually this... Clifford DeVoe?" Izzy recapped as Cisco and Caitlin ran scanners over her.

Barry, still in his Flash garb, glanced over at Ralph. They both nodded.

"Oh yeah," Cisco said. "100% dude."

"Mhm," Caitlin agreed. "DeVoe is transferring his consciousness to the other bodies of all the other people who were on the bus and got their powers with you.''

"Wait, so this little girl wants my _body_?" Izzy asked incredulously.

"That's why we're trying to protect you," Barry spoke up as Caitlin nodded. "DeVoe's already taken most of his targets."

"No," Izzy said, eyes wide as she stared as the ever-growing list of deaths caused by DeVoe. "This ain't happenin'. Not now. I only got my powers recently. And- and now it's like I've got a deeper connection to my music then I've ever had. I'm about to record the rest of my new album, I'm about to-"

"Izzy, your album can wait," Barry interrupted. "This threat is real."

" _So is my big break_ ," Izzy grit out. "Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work for this? I left my home. I lost my friends, and good men, and I have put up with more crap then you can _imagine_ , so that one day I would get my dream. And now you're telling me that some- some pint-sized lunatic is just gonna take it all away?"

"Which is exactly why we want you to stay here, at STAR Labs," Iris spoke up.

"Why?" Izzy shot back. "Are y'all gonna protect me or something?"

She spun back to Barry, who shook his head. "We're going to train you."

Four minutes later, the three metas identities were revealed and Izzy was storming out of the Cortex.

"I dunno, guys," Ralph spoke up. "I feel like if I just followed her into that hallway and gave her one of those "hey, you!" talks, I could get her to stay."

"The what are you waiting for?!" Cisco cried incredulously.

"Well, I didn't know if you, like, drew straws or something," Ralph shrugged.

Caitlin dropped her head, feeling halfway between exasperation and wanting to laugh. "No, go!" Cisco yelled, and Ralph held up his hands in surrender and followed Izzy into the hallway.

 **Flash!**

Ralph was successful in convincing Izzy to let Barry train her. Things went well at first. Izzy was able to concentrate her powers using her fiddle, and she practiced them on Ralph. The sound waves really just made him stretch, but everyone could see what could happen if he didn't have his abilities.

Then Barry upgraded to moving targets. He started with just one practice disk, which Izzy easily decimated. Then, using his speed, he shot the rest of them at her, rapid fire.

She hit all of them except one, which half-broke before the sharp end sliced into her arm.

"Barry!" Iris cried in shock as Izzy gasped in pain and grabbed her arm. Ralph hurried over, shaking his head at Barry, who looked frustrated.

After applying a few stitches to Izzy's arm, Caitlin left her in Ralph's care and wandered off to find Barry. He was slouched over, moping, in the side lab, and he glanced up when she walked in.

"How's Izzy?"

"She's just fine, just needed a couple of stitches," Caitlin assured him. "Ralph won't leave her side. I think he might really like her."

"Well, he shouldn't be bothering her at all," Barry grumbled. "She needs to stay focused."

Caitlin sighed. She really hated when he got like this. "This is just her first day training with powers she's only had for a little while," she reminded him, walking further into the room. Barry grunted an affirmative and Caitlin gave him a look. "Barry, don't you think you're being a little hard on her?"

"No!" he said immediately. "I'm trying to teach her how to protect herself."

"Well, it seems to me like you're trying to turn her into a hero," Caitlin countered. "That path just isn't meant for everyone, Barry. I mean, Izzy's just trying to survive."

"Well, she's not going to if I don't push her."

"You think this is the only way to fight DeVoe?" Caitlin asked.

Barry shook his head, chin dropping. "It's not just about that," he admitted. "Cait... you weren't at Iron Heights at first. I saw up close what DeVoe did to Becky- to all of them. And I- I couldn't do anything except just... stand and watch it happen. DeVoe is ruthless. He's not gonna stop until he's taken her powers. And her life. He's not gonna go easy on her, so neither can I."

Caitlin let out a heavy sigh. It came to light, as it always did, why Barry was really upset and closed off. She sat down on his lap, laying an arm around his shoulders and rubbing his back. "You should have never had to experience that," she murmured. "It never should have happened. But Baer, we can't be ruthless like DeVoe. He is willing to sacrifice anyone and anything. Just remember that the next time you're pushing to hard, okay?" She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. "You of all people know that heroes aren't made overnight."

 **Flash!**

Unfortunately, Izzy didn't take so well to getting hurt by Barry's hands. She went off to fight DeVoe on her own, and Team Flash was left with no other choice than to go after her.

Luckily for them, Harry rushed in with a plan. Trying to make a long story short, he told them that he had been helping Cecil with her problem of mind-reading Joe while he slept and hearing all his dreams. He had created a Cerebral Inhibitor, and he thought they could use it to stop DeVoe. It seemed they would be able to test that theory tonight.

Before Ralph and Barry rushed off, Caitlin stopped her husband in the hallway. "Look, Barry, you might need Frost's help tonight. You know how powerful DeVoe is. You'll need all hands on deck."

Barry glanced over his shoulder, itching to follow Ralph to the elevator so they could go after Izzy. "Caitlin, I really appreciate the offer. But we don't know what's going to happen tonight. It's just not safe."

"Oh, so it's safe for you and _Ralph_ to go out there?" Caitlin protested angrily. "Come on, Barry! There's a constant chance that DeVoe could try and implant himself into Ralph's body. It's a wonder he hasn't already. But even with that risk, you still let him go out with you."

Barry shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, well, I don't love Ralph," he replied. "Ralph isn't my wife. And Ralph isn't carrying my unborn child."

Caitlin let out a groan, head tipping back. "You know what? Fine," she growled. "Now good luck and don't come crying to me if your mission fails because you needed backup and you _didn't have it_."

Sighing, Barry flashed off to where Iris was picking up high readings of sound-waves from the satellite. They weren't a moment to soon. DeVoe was just stalking towards Izzy when the two of them appeared and Barry flashed her out of harms way.

Shocked, Izzy looked up at Ralph. "You came after me," she cried breathlessly.

He grinned down at her. "We all did."

"Alright, Ralph," Barry spoked up. "I'll keep DeVoe busy. You just get the inhibitor on."

He flashed off, but it didn't do much good. In moments he had crashed to the ground. DeVoe had used Dominic's powers to give him a brain aneurism. Gritting his teeth, Ralph glanced over at Izzy. "Get out of here," he told her and she nodded, running off.

Ralph stretched his arm forward as fast as he could, ready to place the inhibitor on DeVoe's forehead. She saw (or maybe heard) him coming, however, and slapped the tech out of his hand. It fell to the ground, and a second later Ralph was knocked backwards by an enlarged container.

Smirking, DeVoe turned around triumphantly, only to have Izzy appear seemingly out of nowhere and place the inhibitor on her forehead.

Taken by surprise, DeVoe could only gape for a moment.

"Is it working?" Caitlin, who was in the Cortex with the rest of the Team, asked.

"Oh, it's working," Harry murmured.

Back on the field, DeVoe recovered herself. "How did Mr. Deacon put it? Ah yes... Call me Killgore."

Her eyes turned purple, as did the Cerebral Inhibitor. On the screen in the Cortex, the image of DeVoe's brain began to glitch. DeVoe was using Killgore's powers to control the technology.

Ralph was still trapped under the container. He was slowly managing to shove it off him, and got his head about the metal just in time to see Izzy running towards him. Instead of getting to him, she slammed into a red-and-yellow, electric, invisible wall, the same one that had been used to encase Barry.

"Ralph?" Izzy whispered, tears filling her voice.

Barry finally got to his feet and flashed over to Ralph's side. "Get her out of there!" Ralph hollered.

"Ralph, we can't," Barry said, voice breaking.

"Get her out!" Ralph yelled, slamming his fist into the force-field.

A moment later, DeVoe had appeared again in her chair.

And a moment after that, Izzy had a metal arm attached to her head, DeVoe's life-force draining into her.

Once again, they had lost a bus meta to DeVoe.

 **Author's Note: So not a great chapter, but from a Snowbarry standpoint, the episode was pretty dry.**

 **I promise there's a reason for all this Don't-Go-Into-The-Field drama! I have a couple things planned, but for now I'll say my reason is that I'm trying to explain the plot hole of when the Flash decides to put Killer Frost in the field.**


	15. 4x15

**Author's Note: CHAPTER 15! WHO ELSE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THIS EPISODE THE ENTIRE SEASON?! This was probably my number 1 favorite episode of Season 4- I even liked the WestAllen moments! I think I'm just a sucker for Hurt/Comfort, honestly ;) AND we got our very first taste of FlashFrost. Was it ever glorious!**

 **This is probably gonna be a long one so sit back, relax, and enjoy the Snowbarry :D**

"Ready when you are, Barry!" Caitlin called.

"I'm ready!" Barry, who was currently whizzing around the Speed Lab in circles, replied.

"Are you seriously?" Cisco asked. He was standing in the middle of the room, in front of a white board that was copiously covered in numbers and equasions, shaking his head.

"C'mon, Cisco, just one more," Caitlin pleaded, standing up and walking towards him.

"She said 10 minutes ago," Cisco shot back.

Iris sighed, standing up and walking towards him. "Look, you know he's not gonna stop until he makes it through," she pointed out. "Come on, you know how Barry gets."

"One more," Cisco agreed, wrinkling his nose at her as soon as her back was turned.

"Thank you!" she called out.

"Alright, here we go," Caitlin said as Cisco got into position and held out his hand. A breach appeared in the middle of the room. "Three... two... one... Now!"

Barry came skidding out of the running loop and landed in front of the breach a millisecond after Cisco closed it. He skidded to a stop. "Dangit! One more."

"Iris," Cisco said.

"Barry," Iris started. "Look, why don't we take five?"

"No," Barry said immediately. "Not until get this, come on."

"Barry..." Caitlin protested.

"Listed, Miyagi," Cisco said. "I've been here all day opening breaches. So unless you wanna... rub your hands together and do some magic shoulder power..."

"I'm not rubbing your shoulder," Barry told him, nose wrinkling.

"That's what I thought, I'm taking five!"

"Come on!" Barry yelled angrily after him as Cisco stalked out the door, Iris gathering her things and heading out behind him.

" _Taking five!_ "

Barry groaned and attaches his hands to the back of his head, walking farther into the room. "I don't understand why I can't get this."

Caitlin came down from her computer layout and walked over to him. "Well, probably because you've been up all night."

"That shouldn't matter."

They stopped in front of the white board, looking it over. "Look, Barry, a breach closes in three picoseconds. DeVoe's could shut even faster."

He let out a frustrated breath and she pressed on. "Look, I'm just saying that this might not even be the best plan to catch him anyway!"

"It's a plan, you know?" Barry argued. "It's the only one we have right now."

"And what if he uses his force-field against you?" Caitlin continued, following him doggedly as he walked back across the room to the platform steps. "You don't know how to get out of it yet."

"I dunno, Cait, but we need something," Barry sighed, sitting down on the bottom step and leaving room for her to do the same. "We have no leads on the next three bus metas; no way to track DeVoe; no way to stop him... I mean, he can't be this smart!"

Now sitting too, she gave him an unconvinced look, shrugging a little.

He reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "We've just- we've been at this for months, and we have nothing."

"Maybe that's the problem, Barry," Caitlin told him gently. "Maybe you just need to take a breather, and let the answer come to you. Do something else for a bit."

"Like what?"

"Like... date night for starters?" Caitlin suggested, looking up at him. "You know, we haven't had any quality time together, just you and me, since our honeymoon."

"Which was ridiculously short."

Caitlin nodded her agreement, laughing a little. "I know that we're superheroes, but-"

"We're also Caitlin and Barry," Barry agreed, before resting his hand on her stomach. "And whoever this little one is gonna be." She smiled at him and he nodded. "You're right. Alright, I'm gonna make a reservation. Tonight. Some place... very romantic."

He squinted at her thoughtfully and she giggled before humming appreciatively. "Mm... sounds perfect."

He laughed softly and tucked his head against her shoulder. "You know, we really do need to tell the rest of the Team about the baby."

She winced. "Yeah, if we wait as long as we did to tell them about us dating, I'm going to be showing before they find out."

He chucked at the memory. "Why did we hide our relationship for so long?"

"Honestly?" Caitlin replied, shaking her head. "I can't even remember. We were so different back then."

"Do you ever miss it?" he asked, staring thoughtfully at the white board. "How easy it all was?"

She shrugged. "It didn't seem easy at the time. It never did."

"No, I suppose not," he sighed, pressing his lips to her hair. "Which is why we have to take each moment as we get it, I guess. There's never going to be a good time for anything."

"No there's not," Caitlin agreed. "Except for tonight. Because tonight is a great time for a date."

 **Flash!**

"What is this?" Caitlin asked as she and Barry walked into the Cortex after being summoned by the Team.

"This," Harry explained, gesturing to the screen. "Is a signature field mapping every time DeVoe has been in and out of his liar in the pocket dimension."

"All of these?" Barry asked.

"All of them," Cisco confirmed.

"So, how did you do this?" Iris asked.

"I didn't do it, actually, Ramon did it," Harry deferred.

"All I did was come up with a really complex and elegant algorithm to track the warping signatures," Cisco said.

Harry made a face and soon the two of them were squabbling. Barry interrupted. "Do you know that these are-"

"These are DeVoe," Harry interrupted, clicking on one of the points. "This is when Marlize grabbed him from Izzy at Lawrence Hills; this is when he showed up at Iron Heights prison."

Caitlin leaned forward. "This is at his house," she pointed out, clicking another dot.

"This is the alleyway in the city center where he abducted you," Iris added.

"How long has this been going on?" Barry asked, crossing his arms and not moving his eyes from the screen.

Cisco sighed. "The past three years."

Caitlin and Barry's heads swiveled in shock. "Three years?!" Barry gaped.

"DeVoe orchestrated everything to get the people he wanted on the bus," Cisco said. "He's been playing us a loooong time. He's a planner, just like Thawn."

"So how do we use this?" Iris asked.

"All we can do right now is wait for the next marker to appear," Cisco shrugged. "Then we can try to get the jump on him. That and we can keep an eye on Ralph using the old buddy system."

"Has anyone seen Ralph today?" Barry asked. His friend had been pretty torn up after Izzy's death, but he had decided to stay with the team.

"No, he's downstairs moving in," Caitlin told him. "He's very nervous."

"I don't know why," Harry grumbled.

"I don't know why, either!" Cisco shrugged. "He's a superhero! People with powers are ready for everything-" he spun around only to yell. "AH! Son of a breach!"

Caitlin turned around in surprised. There in the hallway entrance stood none other than Jess Wells. "Sorry," she said, giving Cisco an odd look. "I just came through the breach room."

Caitlin's face lit up. "Hey!" she greeted happily. "Jesse, welcome back. What- what're you doing here?"

Jesse held up an Earth 2 message cube, and all eyes turned to Harry. Barry, misinterpreting all of it, leaned around Cisco to see Jesse. "Wally's not here."

 **Flash!**

If Caitlin thought that was exciting, the next thing that happened was doubly so.

"Guys, six Argus agents down," Iris reported. "They just opened the hanger. One armed assailant inside."

"Got it!" Barry called into coms. He and Jesse were already in the field, but Cisco was still at STAR Labs.

He glanced over at Caitlin. "Frost wanna go have some fun?"

"You are _literally_ the best," Caitlin groaned. In seconds, Frost had taken over and was throwing on her jacket.

Cisco breached them to the scene of the crime, where a ring of cops was waiting for the attacker, guns raised.

As if in slow motion, a young woman stepped out of the Argus vehicle. She walked confidently towards the cops, before Barry flashed behind her. "Just you and us now," he said, raising his eyebrow.

"Great work, everyone," Iris said, relaxing.

"It's over," Barry agreed.

The woman spun around. "For all of Central City," she agreed, and held up a device with a large red button on it.

Barry flashed into action, but it was too late. She had already pressed the button and when he got close enough he could read what it said.

 _Nuclear Detonation._

 _Active._

There had been a nuke in the truck.

And it was now set to explode.

Still moving in super speed, Barry turned around and walked over to the shipping container. He frantically stripped off his cowl and stared in horror at the nuclear core that was now active in front of him.

"Barry."

Barry spun around at the sound of a voice to find Jesse standing in the entrance of the shipping container.

Barry swallowed and shook his head. "We're too late."

 **Flash!**

Even before Barry left the scene of the crime, a couple of major things had happened.

Jesse had run off to Earth Three to find Jay Garrick. Barry was hopeful that a speedster with such a vast knowledge of the Speed Force might be able to help them find a way out of this. While he waited for Jesse's return, Barry had unfrozen Cisco and had him take a look.

"Yeah... that'll definitely blow your face," Cisco muttered after Barry had explained quickly about Flashtime and they had walked together over to nuke together. "That- that looks like an experimental fission engine, deuterium isotopes... it would make this truck an inertial confinement cage to stop the radiation. But with enough pressure... the isotopes inside, they split, they produce heat, they produce light- It starts out blue, turns yellow... turns purple... and then it's game over."

In desperation, Barry tried to get Cisco to breach the nuke to a dead Earth, like they had with Fallout's excess radiation a couple weeks ago. Instead of working, a few bursts of blue energy came out of Cisco's fist and then dissipated into the air.

"I think I might be all breached out," Cisco muttered, looking over at Barry. "I don't know; I think I breached one too many times today."

"No, that's not it," Barry realized, letting out a sigh. "The breach is a folding of space and time, right? So when we're moving this fast-"

"We're moving in... Flashtime," Cisco agreed. "Then we don't have the time necessary for a breach to form."

"Exactly," Barry said, shoulder's dropping.

A second later Cisco was collapsing against the side of the containment truck. "Hey!" Barry cried, struggling to stay in contact with him as he hit the side of the truck. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't-" Cisco was breathing heavily, hands shaking. "I don't- I don't know."

"You're not a speedster," Barry realized. "Your body can't handle moving this fast for very long."

Unsure of what else he could do, Barry brought Cisco back to Frost's side and unfroze him. Before he turned to normal speed, Cisco suggested that he talk to Harry.

Barry nodded, letting him go, and turning towards the exit. As he moved, his eyes caught on Frost. He turned back to her for a moment, hand lingering right next to her cheek like he was going to touch it, before he stopped. He could have what happened to Cisco happen to her.

Gritting his teeth, Barry turned and flashed away toward STAR Labs, where Harrison Wells would most definitely still be.

 **Flash!**

The only idea Harry had was for Barry to breach the nuke into the Speed Force using his own speed. By the time that Harry was becoming faint from being in Flashtime and had told Barry over and over to get Jesse out of there, the aforementioned female speedster had arrived at STAR Labs with Jay Garrick.

Barry explained what was going on as fast as he could, as well as Harry's idea. Jay was horrified. "Like heck you will," he said.

"What do you mean?" Barry asked desperately. "Why not?"

"Because Flash, if you do that, you might lose the Speed Force forever," Jay told him seriously.

"We might lose the Speed Force?" Barry repeated, uncomprehending.

"An explosion of that size might destroy it completely," Jay said. "If that would happen every speedster across space and time would lose access to their speed instantly."

Barry's eyes went wide. "Every speedster?"

Jay knew where his mind was headed. "Even if you got rid of Thawn and every other evil speedster in the multiverse, you cannot do this! I won't let you."

"Well, I'm sorry Jay. If this is the only way to save everyone in the city, I have to," Barry replied stonily, pushing past him and heading towards the Speed Lab to work out some equations.

Jay was adamant that Barry would not be sending the nuke into the Speed Force. But he did have another idea.

"There is one other way," he said, standing between Jesse and Barry after going over some basics of nuclear fission. "Cooling it down."

 **Flash!**

It was hard for Barry not to hesitate when he took Frost into Flashtime. Part of him was aching to see Caitlin, or any part of her, but the other part could help but think about how being in Flashtime had affected Cisco. Frost was pregnant (even if it was really Caitlin who was pregnant and the cryptomaniac might not know about it yet). Being in Flashtime could hurt her even worse.

But they didn't have much of a choice, so Barry gently grasped her arm and brought her into Flashtime with him.

"I see all these frozen people around me, Flash, and this time, it's not my fault," she quipped after looking around for a second. She didn't seem terribly alarmed, and Barry was glad for her cool-headedness.

"We need your help," Barry told her.

"Three of you now! What's going on?"

"The cargo in the container is a nuclear bomb," Barry told her.

"Yeah," Jesse added. "And it went kaboom."

Frost's eyebrows went up and she was silent for a moment. Then: "Handy."

"C'mere," Barry urged, keeping his hand on her arm and leading her over to the container.

"Phew!" Frost exclaimed as they walked into the truck. "It's toasty in here."

"We need you to cool it down," Jay told her.

"You want me to cool down a nuclear reaction that's already gone critical?" Frost confirmed, laughing incredulously. Seriously stares meant this statement and her eyebrows raised again. "You're serious."

"Quickly please, Miss Frost," Jay urged.

"Alright," Frost shrugged. "Let's give it a whirl."

In classic Frost formation, she shot out her arms and sent a stream of ice towards the nuke. It didn't do anything, and after a couple of seconds the frost petered out. Frost let out a breath and glanced over at Barry. "That didn't go quite how I expected."

The sound like a video game loading up filled the truck and the blue glow of the nuke faded to yellow. It's container cracked a little more, and everyone jumped.

"Try again," Barry instructed Frost, unsure of what else they could do.

She looked at the bomb dubiously, but thrust out her hands again. Less than a second later she keeled over, eyelids fluttering.

"No," Barry murmured in horror, wrapping his arm around her to keep her upright.

"So that's what heat feels like," Frost breathed, blinking a few times to clear her vision. She tried to straighten up and fell into Barry.

"You're burning up," he murmured, pressing his hand to her flaming cheek. "Come on."

Keeping an arm wrapped around her, Barry led Frost back to Cisco's side. "It's alright," he whispered as her trembling hand gripped his. "You're okay. I have to let you go, alright?"

His hand reached up and brushed the curtain of hair hanging in front of her face back. Her eyes were glassy but she grabbed his arm with surprising strength as he tried to let go. "Barry?"

He paused, his heart thumping oddly in his chest. She had never called him by his name before.

Frost glanced up, her icy-blue eyes round and pleading. "Don't let Caity die. And don't you die, either."

He felt something in him warm and nodded, not trusting his voice.

Frost's face still masked in fear and concern, Barry watched as the lightning flickered around her and she went still. As soon as he let go he felt the hopelessness of their situation again. That, and seeing the ring on the finger in front of him (it was worn even when Frost was in charge) made him feel like he was going to cry. He missed Caitlin. If they all died today he needed to see his wife.

Jesse and Jay gave him a moment to collect himself before they got back to their problem. It was Jesse's idea for all of them to throw a lightning bolt each, all at the same time, to try and short circuit the bomb with 3 billion joules of energy.

It should have worked. But just as Jay was about to throw his lightning bolt he fell to his knees, accumulated energy flickering out.

"Jay!" Barry cried, rushing over and kneeling before the older man.

"I'm not used to going this long," Jay panted, his face a sheen of sweat. He tried to get up but collapsed back to his knees.

"Hey, hey!" Barry exclaimed, trying to get him to stay on the ground. "It's okay."

"Darn legs," Jay muttered. "They don't work like they once did."

"It's okay," Barry repeated.

Jay reached out and gripped Barry's shoulder. "I'm not gonna be able to finish this one, Flash. I'm sorry."

"Just rest," Barry told him.

"I'm so-" Jay's voice broke off and he planted a hand on the floor to support himself. "Sorry-"

Lightning overtook him and he was still.

 **Flash!**

Jesse was starting to slow down, so Barry told her to get out. In just a few minutes, he went from having two speedsters on his side to being alone in the hanger.

Once again, he walked over to Frost and hovered in front of her, aching to talk to Caitlin. She would know what to do. She _always_ knew what to do.

A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and Barry wiped it away. He was beginning to run out of energy. If he didn't figure out something now, he would stop running, and Central City and everyone he cared about would be decimated by the nuclear bomb.

He stopped in front of Joe on his way towards the door. He could leave now and never see his father again. He was _so tempted_ to wake him up... but he didn't have the time.

He broke into a run and headed towards STAR Labs.

When he came out of his super-super speed, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He crashed into the wall, sweat dripping into his eyes and blinding him. His head was spinning, heart pounding overtime.

As his hand scribbled across the white board, smearing inc and trying to come up with something- _anything_ \- to get himself out of this mess, he realized it was hopeless. There was only one thing left he could do.

The nuclear core had gone from yellow to purple by the time he got back to the hanger. He hovered in front of Frost, unsure if it was tears or sweat that were soaking his cheeks. Then his hands cupped her face and she was moving again.

Frost faded away almost instantly. Either her stint in Flashtime had made her too sick to remain in control or she saw something in Barry's eyes, in a couple of seconds Caitlin was standing in front of him.

"Barry!" she gasped, staring around her in shock. "What-? what-?"

"You're moving as fast as I am," he explained, panting. "Like in the courtroom."

"What? Why?" Bewildered, Caitlin turned her eyes back to his face and they went wide. She reached up and touched his forehead, her fingers coming away slick with sweat. Then here eyes went to the nuclear bomb, purple and critical, glowing inside the truck. "No."

Barry cupped her face, exhausted tears welling in eyes. "I can't save us this time."

 **Flash!**

"What do you mean, you can't save us?" Caitlin asked as Barry's gloved hands gripped the sides of her face.

"There's a bomb-"

"I know, I know," Caitlin murmured. "But there's gotta be something you can do."

"We tried- we tried everything- we tried lightning, and- and breaching it to another Earth and cooling it down... n-nothing would work." Barry tilted his head back, breath coming in gasps. "I don't know what to do."

Never, not even after his father died, had Caitlin seen Barry like this. His eyes were pure exhaustion and he was trembling all over, sweat soaking his face and his hairline. A tear rolled down his cheek, glinting in the pale purple light from the nuke.

"As soon as I stop it's gonna-"

"I know," Caitlin whispered, reaching up and gripping his wrists. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck. "I don't know how much longer I can hold out," he whimpered. "I'm so tired."

"It's okay, Barry," Caitlin whispered. She shifted her hand and her stomach dropped. "Oh my God, you're burning up."

"It's been so long," he panted. "For me."

He lifted his hand and she moved her other hand to be around his neck, too. "Hey, hey," she whispered, trying to get him to focus on her. "Look at me."

His eyes were shut, legs barely holding him up. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, no, don't be sorry," she said, cutting him off. He cupped her face again, thumbs stroking her cheeks. "Okay?" Caitlin put on a smile, even as her eyes filled up with tears. "This isn't exactly the- the quality time I was imagining but it's still nice."

He smiled for the first time that afternoon and she let out a half-sob-half-laugh before tugging his forehead down to rest on hers. "Every moment with you, Barry, has always been nice."

"I know," Barry whispered, his voice cracking and tears spilling down his cheeks. "You're my lightning rod, Caitlin."

The word 'Lightning' struck something inside of Caitlin. She slowly pulled back, brow furrowed in thought. "What?" Barry asked, a bead of sweat rolling down from his hairline. "What is it?"

"You said you tried to use lightning," Caitlin murmured.

"But it- it didn't work," Barry told her. "If I was powerful enough-"

"You could have fused the split atoms," Caitlin finished, mind working a mile a minute. "And negated the effects of the bomb."

"But I can't do it alone," Barry said, voice wavering. "I can't generate that kinda energy."

"You can't," Caitlin agreed. "But the Speed Force can."

Barry gave her an uncomprehending look. He was so tired. She could see it in his eyes. "What?"

"When you went into the Speed Force, there was lightning from the storm. One of those bolts-"

"Would be more than enough," Barry agreed, eyes growing. "But I- I can't- how could I draw that out? I can't-"

"Look, listen," Caitlin cut him off, knowing they were pressed for time. "When we freed you, Cisco and I worked all night on this quark sphere. It's programed with your genetic marker and designed to trick the Speed Force into thinking that you were still in there."

Barry's mouth fell open a little, amazed. "I just need to get that sphere," he whispered in realization.

"Yeah."

"And the storm will chase me."

"Like you said," Caitlin said shakily. She could feel an odd sense of heat burning in her chest and she knew she didn't have much more time in Flashtime. "A lightning rod, to bring out the lightning."

Barry's eyes searched her face for a moment before he bent down and kissed her, _hard_. Caitlin's fingers pressed into the back of his neck for a moment, his lips like embers on her own.

Then he pulled back, and she could see the fire had been restarted in his eyes. "Come back to me," Caitlin whispered.

He grinned. "As fast as I can."

 **Flash!**

The next thing Caitlin remembered, she was getting knocked backward by a wave of power. She quickly rolled to her knees. "Barry. Barry!"

Stumbling to her feet, dizziness overwhelmed Caitlin for a second. She pushed through it and ran over to her husband, who was splayed out on the concrete. Caitlin fell to her knees. "Barry," she repeated, pressing her fingers to his pulse. It was weak, but it was there. "Barry, please wake up."

He groaned, eyelids fluttering. His skin was still feverish and overheated under her hand as she cupped his face. "Heeey, Caitlin..." he mumbled.

Her head dropped forward in relief and she grabbed one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. "Come on, hero," she murmured. "Let's get you home."

A half hour and numerous checkups later, Barry was lying in a gurney in a grey STAR Labs t-shirt with one arm tucked comfortably behind his head.

Jay Garrick walked in. "Well this was fun," he grinned, seeming to be fully recovered from his stint in Flashtime. "As usual. But it's time for the old crimson comet to head back home."

"Thanks for your help, Jay," Barry said, smiling.

"Yeah," Iris agreed. "If it wasn't for you two and Jesse, there'd be a completely different story in the news right now."

Caitlin nodded her agreement but Jay smiled. "Well, I believe Caitlin was a big part of that, too. Credit where credit is due."

Barry looked adoringly at her. "My sentiments exactly.

Caitlin smiled at him and shook her head. "It was just an idea," she shrugged. "You all had them. Mine just happened to work. You guys put in the real work."

Jay nodded, accepting her modesty, and Caitlin held out a tab for him. "When you get home, you need to rest. Your glucose levels are pretty low."

"Thanks," Jay accepted, eyebrows twitching. "When I get home I don't think I'll be doing anything _but_ getting rest."

Cisco's brow furrowed. "Meaning?"

"I've been at this hero game a long time," Jay elaborated. "A long, _long_ time. And after today... I'm thinking about trying my hand at something new."

"Like what?" Barry asked.

"For starters: training someone to take over," Jay shrugged.

"There's another Flash on your Earth?" Cisco asked incredulously.

"There will be," Jay agreed. "As soon as I'm done training her." And his eyes slipped to the door, where Jesse Wells had just come in.

Caitlin smiled. It seemed that things would be working out for the two of them just fine.

As Jay left the room, Caitlin turned to Barry. "So. You need to rest as well, mister," she told him, gently but sternly. "No running, no Flash. Your system is taxed."

"I'm good," Barry assured her.

She nodded, rubbing her hand on his shoulder. "You will be. But you're not yet."

"That's right," Cisco pitched in. "Anything comes up, and we've got it."

Joe nodded. "Caitlin, make sure this man rests," he instructed his daughter in law, giving Barry a stern look.

Joe, Cisco and Iris filtered out of the room, leaving Barry and Caitlin alone. Caitlin rested her arm on the back of the gurney. "Long day, huh?'

"Yes, it was," Barry murmured, nodding his agreement. "You know, I realized a couple of things while I was in Flashtime."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Well," Barry began. "I'm more than fast enough to catch DeVoe. We just need to know when he's coming out of the pocket dimension sooner.

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed. "We'll figure that out." She reached up stroke the soft, fluffy hair at his forehead. "What's the other thing?"

Barry looked at her gently. "You were right," he said. "About taking a breather." He brushed her cheek with his thumb. "Just a moment with you and I'm grounded again. Everything looks more clear."

A smile broke across Caitlin's face and she gave him a nudge. "Scooch over."

Barry complied, grinning, and Caitlin laid down next to him on the gurney. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and she rested his head against his chest, shutting her eyes contentedly.

"I'm sorry about date night," Barry sighed, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"Don't be," Caitlin reassured him, eyes still shut. "Calorie bars and sweat pants... that's all I've ever really needed. As long as there's a healthy dose of you in there, too."

Barry smiled. "Always."

 **Flash!**

The next day, Caitlin went to Jitters to get coffee with Harry. It had been awhile since she had spent some quality time with him. It was overdue.

"So..." Caitlin prompted as they picked up their drinks at the counter.

"So?"

"Jesse seemed better when she left," Caitlin said, picking a table and sitting down. "And so do you."

"Yeah, well." Harry shrugged.

"Did you guys have a nice talk?''

"Actually, well... it was more of a listening session than a talk," Harry admitted, rather vaguely in Caitlin's opinion. "But we're good. Yeah. Both of us."

"That's good, Harry," Caitlin said, smiling gently.

"Yeah, and what about you?" he asked, turning the conversation away from him.

She furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Come on," Harry said. "I know you well enough to know that something's on your mind. What is it?"

Caitlin let out a breath. There were, at the moment, actually two things on her mind. But one of them could wait for another time, so she went with the one that Harry might understand. "It's... Killer Frost."

"What about Killer Frost?" Harry asked, eyeing her seriously.

She broke their gaze, searching for a way to explain. "I don't know anything that she says, or does. It's scary, and alarming to have this person that you know nothing about living inside of you. But for the first time... I remember what she did."

Harry's eyebrows went down and he looked at her, intrigued. "Well, what do you remember?"

"Barry," Caitlin told him. "Taking her into Flashtime, trying to freeze the bomb, and... Killer Frost being... worried."

"Worried," Harry echoed. "Worried... about what? About dying?"

Caitlin shook her head. "About me," she murmured. "And about Barry."

Harry tilted his head. "Interesting-"

A second later a torrent of coffee was being splashed across their table. Both of them leaped up as a young girl with auburn hair, streaked with silver threw up her hands and yelped.

"Oh my gosh, I'm _so_ sorry, I didn't mean to drop that, it just slipped out of my hand-"

"That's okay," Caitlin said stiffly, watching as the coffee began to drip off the table.

"Ugh, that was my first Killer Frost!" the girl babbled as she grabbed handfuls of red Jitters napkins and began to try and mop up the spill. "And I go and ruin it. Typical- typical me!"

"Don't worry about it," Caitlin assured her, the shock wearing off and allowing her to loosen up a bit. She and Harry helped the girl clean up.

"I just get so clumsy when I'm nervous," the girl continued, sighing.

"What are you nervous about?" Harry asked.

"Oh, um, uh, I'm supposed to be meeting some people here for the first time, and I've got the jitters, which- ha!- is what this place is called," she pointed up toward the ceiling and Caitlin grinned. She was starting to like this girl with her bubbly dorkiness.

Harry sent her a look that clearly said 'kill me now'. "Heh, yes, it is..."

"You know, it's funny! You get nervous, you get the jitters, you go for coffee, and the caffein acts as a stimulant, which makes you shaky, which could also be known as-"

"The Jitters!" Harry finished, forcing a laugh.

Caitlin wasn't listening anymore. She had finally gotten a good look at the girl's face. It was round, with freckles dotted across her nose and thin, arched eyebrows. Her hair was mostly brown but with the light it caught the red streaks in it.

And then there were the parts that were an icy blue-grey-purple. They looked incredibly out of place, but yet, they reminded Caitlin of something.

It was only until after she and Harry had finally escaped the babbling girl's stream of consciousness that she realized who it reminded her off.

 _Her_.

 **Author's Note: OKAY you can all chill now because I included a Nora after scene XD XD XD**

 **HOW WAS THAT FOR A CHAPTER OMG I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FOREVERRRRRR YAYYY THAT WAS SO FUN! Tell me your favorite part: was it the FlashFrost or the Snowbarry?!**


	16. 4x16

**Author's Note: It's come to my attention that things have been so BUSY lately that Caitlin and Barry haven't gotten a chance to tell everyone that Cait is pregnant! (I think that correct term is that "they're" pregnant, but I find that weird because the baby isn't growing in Barry's stomach, is it now? XD)**

"Have I mentioned how much I love waking up with you in the morning?" Caitlin mumbled as she and Barry lay, tangled together, on their bed.

He waggled his eyebrows. "Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed last night?"

Caitlin blushed and buried her face in his chest. "It was pretty amazing," she agreed, voice muffled by his skin.

Barry laughed and they fell into silence for a moment.

"You know," he started up again after a bit. "We really need to tell the rest of the Team that you're pregnant."

"Don't say it," Caitlin groaned, rolling onto her back. "Every time you say that something all-consuming pops up and we don't have the opportunity."

"Come on..." Barry chuckled, reaching an arm over and banding it across her waist before nuzzling his face into her neck. "I've lived an entire day in less than a second and we saved the world from a nuke. What could possibly happen to top that?"

Of course, Barry jinxed it. When they arrived at STAR Labs, fully intended to break the news to their Team, Harry was already calling a Team meeting. By the time that he explained about his Thinking Cap (a tech helmet that he would flood with Dark Matter that would theoretically make his brain as powerful as DeVoe's) and Cisco had refused to help, both Cisco, Ralph and Iris had stormed out of the room.

"There goes our chance," Caitlin sighed, planting her chin on her palm disconsolately.

"Aw, we'll find a time," Barry assured her, smiling fondly. "We have nine months, remember?"

She groaned, giggling. "Let's not wait that long, please."

Iris had run out after Ralph after he left in frustration at the Team not being willing to chance the Thinking Cap to try and save his life. Whatever their conversation had been, it put her in a mood. When Barry and Joe went out to investigate their newest meta, news of which came in after a couple hours, she requested to go with them.

And by requested... well, more forcefully commanded.

And by with them... more like replacing Barry's spot.

Caitlin watched this interaction, a little jealous. Why was it that when Iris wanted to go out into the field, Barry let her (and let her _take his place in the investigation_ ), but when Frost, a _superhero with powers_ , wanted in on the fight, Barry said no?

She sighed, not wanting to ruin the day after the great night they had had. She would bring it up to him later, in a calm and reasonable fashion, and they could discuss it like the working couple that they were.

Much like the news of the baby, however, it would have to wait to be discussed. Iris and Joe got into the trouble with the meta and Barry had to rush off the save them.

Less than a minute after he left their coms were buzzing.

"Guys," Barry said, sounding frantic. "I lost my speed."

Iris swallowed. "Uh, guys?" she said, staring in horror at her hand, which was vibrating in front of her. "I think I found it."

 **Flash!**

"Well, I've run every test I can think of," Caitlin said as she strode into the Speed Lab. "EKGs, cellular regression synthesis, brain chemistry and Dark Matter confirms it. Iris is a speedster."

Iris, clad in a baggy STAR Labs sweatshirt and wearing a ponytail, nodded. When Caitlin had walked in, she had been trying out her new powers, a delighted grin on her face.

"So, what about Baer?" Joe finally asked.

Caitlin swallowed. This one thing she was about to tell them was the only thing stopping her from being incredibly jealous of Iris. "Um... everything that was apart of you- your speed, your connection to the Speed Force, the Dark Matter..." She couldn't bring herself to say it was gone. "It's all apart of Iris now."

Barry's eyes slowly lowered away from hers and Caitlin let out a sigh. Part of her wished that she had gotten the speed powers from Barry. To be able to share in something that he loved _so much_ would be such a moving and relationship strengthening experience. But another part of her was relieved. While having Barry's speed might be teaching her about something he loved, it would also be _taking_ the thing that he loved. She would feel so incredibly guilty.

Barry glanced over at Iris, who looked a little uncomfortable. He looked back to Caitlin. "Can you-"

"Reverse it?" she completed, knowing what he was going to ask. "I don't know. I can try."

"So Matthew Kim isn't just removing DNA," Joe said, referencing their new meta and the original idea they had had. "He's transferring it to anyone he touches."

"He's not getting rid of metas; he's creating new ones," Ralph agreed.

"Well, that's not the only thing," Cisco added. "Guess who's got an apartment right in front of the four or five bus lines and rides it _every_ day to get to work?"

"So..." Iris said. "Matthew is our bus meta, not that Fry guy from the bank. And that means that DeVoe is gonna come after him sooner or later."

"And if DeVoe gets Matthew's abilities," Barry murmured. "He could take away all our powers."

"Unless..." Joe theorized thoughtfully. "We get him on our side first. Then he could remove the meta DNA from DeVoe."

Ralph leaned forward, intrigued. "Would that work?"

Frowning, Caitlin contemplated the idea. "Well... yeah. I mean, it could. As best I can tell, Matthew's powers work by melting down the highly concentrated bonds between DNA. That makes them totally pliable so he can extract them, and infuse someone else with the exact same meta DNA."

"Melting highly concentrated bonds..." Cisco murmured. " _Melting Point_. Oh, yeah yeah yeah, gotta write that down."

Ralph nodded. "Okay, great. You guys figure out how to get this Mr. Melting Point in the same room as DeVoe and _not_ get his brain sucked out. I'm gonna go get a couple of bear claws and go back to my room."

"It's not _Mr._ Melting Point," Cisco huffed as he peeled away from the observation platform and headed for the door. "Look, it's just Melting Point!"

He ran after him, trying to make his point clear, and they both vanished out the door.

"You know, somebody out there has Fry's fire powers right now," Barry spoke up. "We need to find them just as much as we need to find Matthew."

Joe nodded. "I'm on it," he agreed.

Caitlin nodded, following him towards the door. "I'll go see if there's a way to reverse this."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin was working in her lab when Barry wandered in, looking like a lost child.

"Hey," she greeted. "How is training Iris going?"

"She's great," he said, shrugging listlessly. "I mean, she's basically doing everything I did when I started; flying off the end of treadmills, catching her clothes on fire, exciting over speed healing... she'll make a great speedster."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows. "Okay, Mr. Bitter, sit down and tell me what's wrong."

He snorted half-heartedly at the nickname and sat down in a swivel chair. "I lost my speed," he sighed. "I lost my job. I just feel like DeVoe's taking everything from me."

Caitlin rolled over to him and took his hand, placing it on her stomach. "He hasn't taken _everything_ ," she reminded him with a faint smile.

He smiled back, rubbing his thumb against her stomach. "No," he murmured. "I guess he hasn't."

She placed her hand on top of his and patted it a couple times. "I promise you, I will do my best to figure out how to reverse this. I can't- I can't guarantee anything; that wouldn't be fair. But I will do my best."

He nodded, leaning forward to kiss her.

"For now," Caitlin continued, pulling back. "You'll just have to watch Iris like she's watched you all these years."

Barry nodded, and a second later, an alarm went off. Barry and Caitlin both jumped to their feet as Iris came wizzing into the Cortex.

"What happened?" Barry demanded as he and Caitlin hurried into the Cortex.

"Boldwin Tower's on fire," Cisco said. "CCFD is responding but there's people on the top floor that they can't reach."

Caitlin's ears perked up. Fire was something that Frost knew how to handle _very_ well. But before she could open her mouth to offer her services, Iris spoke up. "Okay, Ralph, Cisco... suit up. Caitlin, Frost is on fire duty."

Caitlin blinked, unsure if that meant she was going with. Ralph sat back. "Uh yeah, no. This could just be DeVoe trying to lure us out into the open."

"Hey, I think we've got a bigger problem," Cisco argued. "We don't have a Flash anymore."

A little disgusted at the lack of tact, Caitlin looked over at Iris. "Yeah we do."

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't think she's ready yet," Barry stuttered. "I mean she just- you just got your powers."

Iris glanced over at Ralph, who shook his head and ate another chip. She took a deep breath. "Um... no. I wanna do this."

Straightening her shoulders, Iris glanced over at Caitlin, who nodded supportively. It had been awhile since they had an honorary female member of Team Flash out in the field.

"Uh, okay," Barry agreed hesitantly. "Okay. Uh, we'll monitor from here, then."

"Um, you cannot got out looking like that," Cisco interrupted, gesturing to Iris' leggings and STAR Labs sweatshirt.

"Oh, right," Iris murmured. She wizzed into action and a second later Caitlin was standing in the STAR Labs sweatshirt and Iris was wearing Caitlin's sweater. Caitlin blinked and looked down at herself. This wasn't the first time she had been dressed-and-undressed by a speedster, but it was the first time Iris had done it.

"Sorry, Caitlin," Iris winced. She turned to Cisco. "Mask?"

"Ah, right," Cisco hurried off and quickly handed Iris a black box. "Thank you Jesse Quick."

Moments later, Iris West, new speedster, was sprinting off towards the fire.

 **Flash!**

Things went pretty well... until they didn't. Iris had managed to get the five people trapped on the top floor out, and was working on putting out the fire when there was a large crashing nose from the coms.

"Iris!" Barry cried. "What was that?"

"My leg is pinned; I can't move!" Iris groaned.

Worried glances were exchanged throughout the Cortex. "You have to phase through it," Barry told her.

"What? I don't know how!"

Desperate, Barry glanced up at Caitlin who looked back cluelessly. He rubbed his forehead. "You have to vibrate your whole body, okay?" he instructed. "You just- you have to feel it!"

"I can't- I can't move, I can't do it!" Iris panted.

"We're running out of time, Barry," Cisco reported urgently. "The integrity of the room is failing. The ceilings gonna collapse!"

"Barry!" Caitlin cried, looking at him with wide eyes. He shook his head, staring at the monitor.

Cisco hurried over to Caitlin. "We gotta get Frost in there," he murmured, and Caitlin nodded. There was certainly enough stress and tension in the room to get Frost out quickly, and she and Cisco hopped silently through the breach.

"What a way to wake up!" Frost cried, shielding her face from the fire. Cisco grabbed Iris and started to help her move out from under the cement as Frost began to shoot blasts of ice all around them.

"Come on, Frost!" Cisco yelled over to her. Beginning to cough, Frost nodded and shot the last bit of fire down before hopping into a breach with the two of them.

It wasn't a second to soon. The entire ceiling collapsed where they had been moments before. Thankfully safe, Cisco, Iris and Frost leaped out of the breach and into the Cortex.

Iris stumbled, her leg not supporting her weight, and Cisco quickly caught her gave her a tight hug. She kept coughing, arms gripping his shoulders.

Frost watched this interaction with muted interest. Her skin felt oddly sticky, like she was melting. Unsure of what else to do, she turned back into Caitlin.

The second Frost faded, Caitlin was overcome with a wave of dizziness. Barry, without his speed, wasn't fast enough to catch her as her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor in a dead faint.

 **Flash!**

When Caitlin woke up, she was lying in a gurney and Harry and Cisco were just finished up their checkup.

"Ugh..." she groaned, pushing herself into a half sitting position and rubbing her head. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Barry told her, coming around the side of the bed and taking her hand. "How do you feel?"

"I feel... fine," Caitlin murmured, putting her hand unconsciously on her stomach.

"Is the b-" Barry broke off and glanced at Cisco and Harry. "I mean... Is your stomach okay?"

"I'm... going to have to check," Caitlin told him, still a little foggy. She looked over and saw that the other gurney was also occupied. "Iris! How are you doing?"

"Don't worry, doc, I checked out her leg just like I've seen you do it a hundred times," Cisco assured her. "Iris is just fine."

Iris nodded. "I'm fine, Caitlin," she echoed. "I wasn't the one who fainted. Are you sure you're alright?"

Caitlin nodded, pushing herself out of bed. "I honestly don't know what happened," she admitted. "I guess the heat was too much for Frost, which seems strange. She's dealt with fire before and I didn't faint."

Barry shook his head, looking unsure. "I don't know," he muttered. "But I don't like it. Just... take it easy, alright?"

Caitlin sighed. "Yes, dear," she murmured. "Now, as much as I love you Harry and Cisco, I'm going to do a checkup on Iris now."

Cisco snorted. "Alright, Doctor Snow," he said. "We'll get out of your hair."

 **Flash!**

By the time Caitlin was finished tending to Iris, it was nearly 10:30 at night. She sat down at her computer, grabbed one of her pizza pockets, and set to work on the problem and Barry's vanished speed.

She didn't realize how late it was until Barry came into the Cortex, looking frantic. "Caitlin!" he gasped, running into her lab. "Oh thank God; I was so worried. I've been calling you for the past half hour. After Cisco and Harry and I left you never came home."

Caitlin glanced at her watch. The glowing numbers read 1:26 and her eyebrows went up. "I'm sorry, Barry," she murmured, looking down at her phone, which had 10 missed calls from him. "I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I was just working on your speed problem."

"Caitlin, you passed out today," Barry said sternly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You need rest. You have a baby to take care of now; you're not just doing all of this for yourself."

"Yes, yes, I know," Caitlin muttered, turning back to her work. "But I'm not doing all _this_ for myself either. I'm doing it for you and Iris- and the whole city!"

"You need sleep," Barry pressed. "You've been working all night. Come on, Caitlin, just come home."

She hesitated, looking back to her screen of DNA and scrolling numbers. She hadn't realized she had a headache until this moment, and besides, Barry wouldn't leave her alone until she went home with him.

She could use the sleep. And some cuddle time.

"Alright, fine," she relented, getting her bag and letting him pick her up and run her home.

The next morning, Caitlin did another checkup on Iris. "There's still a little bit of irritation in your lungs from the smoke you inhaled last night, but you should be good to go soon," she told her and the rest of the Team, who was gathered around. "Your leg is already healed."

"We shouldn't have let her go out there," muttered Ralph grimly. "You weren't ready."

Iris looked exasperated. "I saved a lot of people last night, Ralph," she said.

"Yeah, and Cisco and Frost had to save you."

Cisco rolled his eyes and Barry let out a sigh. "Look, we just need to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said firmly. "We have to find Matthew Kim and whoever he transferred Eric Fry's powers to."

Harry looked over to Caitlin. "How close are you to reversing this?"

She let out a sigh. "I don't know that I can."

" _What_?"

"I was up most of last night trying every conceivable solution," Caitlin continued. "Dark Matter splicing... DNA encoding... even regrowing meta-enhanced cell material on a _cellular_ level." She saw Barry's eyes drop, and all the want to tell him that _this_ was why she wanted to stay at STAR Labs faded out of her. "Nothing will work. I _cannot_ replicate Melting Point's powers."

"So unless we find him and get him to reverse what he's done..." Barry murmured.

"Iris is Team Speedster, on a permanent bases," Caitlin finished sadly.

There was a silence before Ralph let out a sigh. "Great, that's... great," he said sarcastically. "I'm gonna go... work on my will."

"Ralph-" Barry started, but Ralph had already turned away and walked towards his room.

 **Flash!**

It wasn't long before there was an alert that a _huge_ fire had started near the wharf, and soon Iris was flashing off in her very own Flash costume to go put out the flames. She started off confident, getting Matthew in power dampening cuffs and turning to the man with Fry's powers.

Soon, however, that man activated his aforementioned powers and Iris was sent back with the heat of the flames.

"Okay, Iris, I need you to run in circles around him and create a vortex," Barry instructed. "The lack of oxygen should extinguish the flames."

"I can't get close to him!" Iris yelled.

"The temperature is at 800 degrees," Cisco reported.

"Like, how hot is that?" Ralph asked, arms crossed.

Caitlin's mouth pinched. "That's as hot as lava."

"Guys!" Iris shrieked. "What's the plan!"

On the monitor showing the fight scene, the meta caused a giant whorl of fire to shoot up around him. It spiraled towards the sky, blazing yellow and white. "Uh, what is that?" Ralph asked, eyeing the screen nervously.

"That is a thermal cyclone," Harry murmured.

"The fire's gonna get to close to those apartments," Cisco muttered.

"Then _thousands_ of people will die," Caitlin realized.

Ralph looked at the all. "Then what do we do?"

Harry looked across the room, where his Thinking Cap was lying, completed, on a table. "We turn this thing on."

"No, Harry, don't," Cisco warned.

"She needs answers-"

"We haven't tested-"

" _She needs answers!_ " Harry yelled.

"Come on, guys, what do I do?!" Iris yelled though the coms.

Barry took a deep breath and nodded and Harry placed the cap on his head.

"Barry, come on, I need an answer!"

"Hang on, Iris," Barry said, turning away from Harry as the helmet activated with blue light. "Just hang on."

Harry's eyes suddenly blew open. "There are 4,827 ways this could go and all of those ways will fail _except one_ , except if Iris uses her speed to draw enough water from Central City Bay into her wake she could extinguish that blaze."

Barry eyed him seriously. "You want her to create a tidal wave?"

Long, grave glances were exchanged around the Cortex before Harry nodded. "It's our only hope."

Getting to her feet, Caitlin hurried over to Barry. "You could send Frost in there," she told him. "She's cooled a nuclear reactor before; she should be able to do this."

"No," Barry replied immediately. "She-"

"Frost can handle it!" Caitlin interrupted, frustrated.

"But you might not be able to!" Barry yelled.

Hurt, Caitlin took a step back. There was a long silence in the Cortex. "Guys?" Iris asked tentatively. "What's going on?"

Barry turned back to the coms. "Iris... I need you to run as fast as you can. On the water."

"On the water?" Iris repeated, confused. "What?"

"Make sure that when you run you dig your heels in and you move back and forth in a tight formation," Barry continued. "So you drag as much water ashore as possible to put out the cyclone."

"You want me to create a tidal wave?!" Iris cried. "Are you crazy?! I can't do that!"

"Yes you can!" Cisco spoke up suddenly. "When we started all of this, you were fearless. I know that you still are. So just- get out there and run, Iris. Run!"

His impromptu motivational speech seemed to do the trick, and Iris took off. A couple tense moments later, the column of fire was put out.

" _Yes_!" Barry cheered.

Caitlin put her fists in the air and high-fived Ralph.

Iris had done it.

 **Flash!**

Much to everyone's relief, Matthew was able to switch the metahuman powers back to Barry. Not only that, but he agreed to join their Team and help them fight DeVoe. Considering how well everything had gone, Caitlin should have been feeling overjoyed.

But she just couldn't get out of her head the way Barry had yelled at her this afternoon, telling her she couldn't handle going into the field. She knew that he had been stressed out and worried and still stepping into Iris' shoes as Team Leader. But it didn't give him any right to chew his head off for it.

Barry found her in her lab, running some tests on herself and the baby and Killer Frost and how they all connected. She had started the research during her downtime when trying to recreate Melting Point's powers, and only now was she able to continue with it.

"Hey," Barry murmured, knocking lightly on the open doorframe.

Caitlin glanced up, shutting the lid of her computer. "Barry."

"Look, I just wanted to... apologize," Barry began. "I get that you're probably furious with me- and you have every right to be; what I said was wrong. But I'd like a chance to explain why I said it and what I meant."

She folded her hands in her lap. "I'm listening."

He let out a breath of relief, like he had been thinking that she would shut him down before he got a chance to speak. "When I said that... you couldn't handle going out into the field, I didn't mean I didn't believe in you, or think you were capable. Caitlin, you are _the most capable person I know_. I need you to know that, okay?"

Caitlin nodded. She felt a certain relief of her own, not exactly having _feared_ his lack of faith but having dreaded it.

"When I said what I said... I was really just talking about earlier," Barry continued. "I just... the way you passed out after transforming back from Frost... I was just worried that it would happen again. Or that it would happen in the field. I just- I was scared, and I didn't feel like we had any time to talk about it so I just yelled at you. It wasn't right. But I just feel like until we figure out what's going on with the... three of you," he gestured to her stomach so she knew he was talking about her, Frost and the baby. "I feel like you should play it safe. Okay?"

Caitlin sighed, glancing down at the computer in her lap. "Actually," she told him. "I might have some idea of what's going on."

He raised his eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yeah," Caitlin said, getting up. "I think it's time to call that Team meeting."

 **Flash!**

Caitlin and Barry stood behind the desks as the rest of the Team trickled in. Harry and Cisco were arguing and Ralph was eating from a bag of chips, but everyone quieted down when Caitlin cleared her throat.

"All of you know that I passed out yesterday after helping Iris stop the fire," she started, looking around at the group. "But you don't know why. Before I get to that... we have some news."

She glanced over at Barry and he took her hand, smiling supportively. Caitlin took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

The response was instantaneous. Joe made an odd choking sound and Cisco squealed like a little girl. Iris, who had actually known the longest but was still over-the-moon with excitement, clapped her hands and beamed wildly.

Ralph's jaw dropped. "Who's the father?" he demanded, gaping at Caitlin.

Abruptly, silence fell in the Cortex and many weird, confused, and annoyed looks were thrown in Ralph's direction.

"Dude, obviously Barry," Cisco scoffed. "Wait- right?"

" _Yes_ , Barry is the father!" Caitlin cried. "Who do you guys think I am?!"

Joe came racing around the desk and barreled into them with a giant hug. The mood was broken as Caitlin laughed, hugging him happily back.

Once everyone had settling down, Caitlin continued. "Originally, when I passed out, I thought it was because of the heat from the fire," she said. "But then I started running some tests. What I realized is that, normally, switching between Frost and myself puts a certain amount of strain on my body. That's why I can't just swap between us two over and over again. With the added stress of the baby, it's made things worse. Recently when I've been coming back from being Frost, I feel dizzy and sick."

"So you think that's why you passed out?" Cisco asked. "Then why haven't you been fainting before?"

"I believe that it was a mix between using my powers, the stress, and the heat," Caitlin told him. "With the added strain of basically supporting three different people in one body, it just got to be too much."

There was a contemplative silence. Harry nodded. "Makes sense," he shrugged. "So what's your plan?"

"I'm not quite sure," Caitlin admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Frost is entitled to this body just as much as I am. I can't keep it from her for nine months, nor can I force her to not use her ice powers. I suppose we'll just have to take it as it comes and see how it all works out. And... if I faint... well, you all don't have to go crazy on me."

Barry smiled and slung his arm around her shoulders. "I'll... probably still go crazy on you," he admitted. "But I'll also say that it's your choice if you want to go into the field. If you think that the situation needs you or Frost, then I'm not going to be the one to stop you."

Caitlin beamed up at him and Joe clapped his hand. "Alright," he said. "All of this stuff calls for some celebration. Who wants to come back to my house for a couple of beers?"

"I'm always down for free drinks!" Cisco crowed, racing out the door.

Laughing, the others followed behind.

 **Author's Note: Umm so that chapter was REALLY fun to write :O**

 **I know there are going to be a few of you that will be giving me a lot of crap in the comments for keeping it that Iris has her speed. My goal in this story isn't to make Iris out to be a terrible person- in fact, I'm trying to make her character better.**

 **But anyway, I hope you'll see why I did it and I hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway with the Caitlin and Barry subplot.**


	17. 4x17

**Author's Note: SKSKSKSSK I KNOW I'VE BEEN GONE FOR AGES I'M SORRY I'M SO DANG BUSY THESE DAYS I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WRITE AND IT SUCKS AND I'M SORRYYYYYYY D:**

"I can't believe we're doing this," Caitlin murmured, her voice shaking slightly as she held a piece of tech in one hand and a bottle of gel in the other. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Never been more ready for anything in my life," Barry murmured gently, placing his hand on top of her stomach. "Let's see our child, Caitlin."

An uncontrollable smile spreading across her face, Caitlin began her first ultrasound. For a moment they couldn't see anything. Then a blurry, grey, white and black image came into view on the screen. The smile turned into a beam and tears filled Caitlin's eyes. "There it is," she whispered.

Barry reached forward and took Caitlin's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. His eyes welled up and both of them stared at the image of their child in Caitlin's stomach.

"Can we print it out?" Barry said softly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Caitlin nodded and clicked a few buttons on the screen, trying not to move to much. The image shifted, something very much alive in Caitlin's stomach. "It's so beautiful," Caitlin whispered, momentarily distracted. "Just wait until we can see the fingers and toes and the nose. And then when we can tell if it's a girl or a boy... I can't wait."

Barry nodded tearfully. "We're going to have to think of a name," he said.

"We will," Caitlin assured him, printing out the image and reluctantly shutting down the ultrasound. "We'll find the perfect name for our perfect child."

Nodding, Barry leaned forward and kissed her, and they sat together for awhile, staring at the first blurry photo of their baby.

 **Flash!**

"Where are we with tracking down Edwin Gauss and Janet Petty?" Barry asked as he and Iris walked into the Cortex after another failed attempt to train Ralph.

Caitlin's head popped up, eyes wide. "No- no," she stuttered, making frantic cutting motions across her neck. "He's-"

"What?" Barry asked, confused, eyes going to Cisco who was crouched behind his desk, pointing urgently across the room.

"He's still-"

"What?" Barry repeated, turning in confusion to Harry.

Harry was standing with the Thinking Cap on his head, but he roughly ripped it off.

"Working on it," Caitlin finished with a sigh.

"I can't work with all this noise!" Harry yelled, sitting down in his chair. It made a very rude noise and Ralph snickered.

"That is disgusting, Harry, really?"

Harry reached under him and pulled out a whoopie cushion. "Really?" Harry grit out, chucking it at him.

Ralph caught it. "That was expensive," he grumbled.

"Harry, look," Cisco spoke up, trying to change the subject. "Every time you try to locate these guys it's the same thing. I'm telling you- just crack that thing open; it's probably broken."

"It's not broken!" Harry argued. "It's just finding these two is _complicated_."

Iris frowned. "Why is that?"

" _Because_ ," Harry cried, pointing at the first man. "This dude, Edwin Gauss, flat out disappeared the day Allen came out of the Speed Force. No credit charges, no bank withdrawals, no social media posts- nothing! Gone."

"What about Janet Petty?"

"Just as tricky," Caitlin answered. "I asked Joe to pull her file from CCPD. Her first known record wasn't until shew as 13, so sort of a nomad. Last known address: Iron Heights."

"What's she in for?" Iris asked.

"Trifecta. Breaking and entering, trespassing, and burglary."

"But the real question is where is she now, and what are her powers," Harry said.

Caitlin pulled up her social media pages and Cisco leaned forward curiously. "Is that really her handle? Null?"

"Okay, well, DeVoe needs both of these people for whatever he has planned," Barry spoke up. "So we have to figure out where they are."

"I will, Allen," Harry said, putting the Thinking Cap back on this head. "If I can get a little peace, a little quiet, and _NO INTERRUPTIONS!_ "

A second later, a breach opened and none other than Breacher, Gypsy's father, came flying through it. He landed on his stomach and quickly hopped to his feet, growling. "Great," Harry muttered, throwing up his hands.

Immediately, Breacher had located Cisco and shoved him up against the wall, a hand at his throat. "I need your help!" he growled.

"I'm getting a little bit of a mixed message here," Cisco croaked.

Ten minutes later, Cisco and Caitlin had been debriefed on Breacher's story. It seemed that he had been going at it as usual, fighting bad guys with his powers, when they just... stopped working. Cynthia, Cisco's neglectful girlfriend, had told him to come to the tech whiz for help. So here he was, asking Caitlin and Cisco for their assistance in getting his powers back.

Not having much else to do, Caitlin agreed once Cisco did, and they doubled down to work.

 **Flash!**

Other than working on Breacher's issue (which turned out, to Cisco's dejection, to be simply caused by Breacher getting old... a fact which he didn't yet know), the only other interesting thing in Caitlin's day was finding out about the newest meta.

It seemed that they had found Janet. And it turned out that she had the power to completely mess with gravity, an event that ended with Barry floating around the Cortex, completely weightless.

"Babe, you okay?" Caitlin asked, a bit concerned, as she held onto Barry's ankle with a rope.

Barry was all the way up to the ceiling, holding on to one of the metal poles that wrapped around the top of the Cortex. "I just wanna get down from here as soon as possible," he replied miserably.

"You could try to burp yourself down, like Charlie Bucket," Ralph suggested.

" _Ralph_ ," Barry grit out.

Caitlin's arms, getting tired, were loosing their pull on the rope and his feet were starting to float towards his head.

"Anything?" Iris asked

"Well, as best I can tell, Nulls powers effect the density of his cells," Caitlin told her, walking over to her computer. "Like you've been filled with helium."

"Terrific!" Barry managed sarcastically.

"I always knew you were a lightweight," Ralph smirked.

"I _swear_ , Ralph," Barry replied murderously.

"Is there a way to reengage his gravitational-" Cisco started.

"Gravitational force?" Harry finished, plunking on the Thinking Cap even as he continued to watch Barry float along the ceiling. "Huh," he said after a second. "Turns out: not necessary."

"Do not let go," Barry pleaded with Caitlin.

Arms aching, she nodded. "I would never."

"Taking Barry's standard mass, the gravitational force gene, and the half-life decadent of Null's dark matter infusion... this event should eventually just... wear off."

Cisco sighed and shrugged, giving Barry an apologetic look.

"Wear off?" Barry asked desperately.

"Your cells should return to normal right about-" Harry gave Cisco a shove a second before Barry crashed from the ceiling and landed with a crunch on the floor. "Now."

Barry was back on his feet in seconds, staring around him in alarm.

"Two for the landing, but _perfect_ end with the thud noise," Ralph commented.

"Why are you joking right now?" Barry demanded, striding angrily towards him. "I mean seriously- what the heck was that back there; pretending to be Joe."

"I committed to the bit, I couldn't blow my cover," Ralph shrugged.

"Ralph!" Barry yelled. "What if that had happened outside on the street?! I could have floated away into the stratosphere and fallen to my death."

Ralph shrugged again. "I would have figured something out."

Barry let out an exasperated breath. "Out of the twelve bus metas, DeVoe is now in control of _seven_ of them," he grit out. "He gets Null, it'll be eight! If he gets control of her powers- we're talking about your life here."

Ralph's gaze slipped sideways and Barry gave him a prompting look. Ralph grinned. "Sorry I was just thinking about the end of Lost and pow!" He made a motion like his brain exploding and Barry threw his head back. He was at the end of his rope. "The thing with Purgatory, what did Kate really see in Jack-"

"Ralph," Barry cut him off. "I'm sorry, but I'm benching you."

Ralph's face fell. "Why?"

"Because you're constantly in the middle of a comedy routine instead of doing what you should," Barry cried. "If you had just tossed me the cuffs we would have Null right now."

"Yeah, or she could have run out the door and I could have stretched the cuffs on her when she didn't see it coming!" Ralph argued. "It's fine."

Barry let out a breath. Caitlin could see on his face that he wasn't even angry anymore- which meant Ralph had stepped _waaaay_ past the boundary line. "Look, I'm doing what's best for you," he said.

"No you're not," Ralph scoffed. "You're doing what's best for you."

And with that, he turned and strode out of the Cortex.

 **Flash!**

Barry was stewing in front of the 12 metahuman profile pictures when Caitlin got back from helping Cisco with Breacher. Things still were not going well. Instead of telling Breacher that he was just getting old, Cisco had shoved Caitlin's bottle of Ibuprofen pills at him and did the breach for him when he tried it out.

"Harry's got nothing on Null so far," Caitlin told him as she walked into the room, rubbing her head. She really wished Cisco hadn't taken her medication- this pregnancy was giving her headaches and she really needed those pills. "He's gonna try something else. We'll find her."

"We have to," Barry agreed. "Even if Ralph screws it up."

Caitlin gave him a meaningful look. "Barry," she said, lips pinched. "That is not his intention."

"Well he could've fooled me," Barry grumbled.

"It's his life! If there's anything that man cares about- it's losing it."

"Well he's gonna lose it if he doesn't start thinking like me; like I taught him."

Caitlin's eyebrows went up. She loved this man- she really did. But it was moments like these that made her want to shake her head and give him a solid slap on the upside of his head. "Thinking like you?"

Exposed, Barry let out a sigh and dropped his head. "No," he muttered.

"He's never gonna do that, Barry, and you can't expect him to," Caitlin said.

Barry nodded and she was about to continue when an alarm started up. Caitlin hurried over to Iris' computer and then glanced back up at Barry. "Robbery at Central City Jewelry," she said. "She really loves bling."

"Alright," Barry sighed, turning towards his suit.

"Wait!" Caitlin cried. "You need backup."

"Well, Ralph's too much of a liability right now; he's benched. And Cisco's working with Breacher."

Caitlin sighed. "And I have no idea where Iris is so I have to run coms. So what's the plan?"

"The plan," Harry said. "Is you vibrate beyond what she can see. Her fingers- you said they glow when she uses her powers. That means Dark Matter concentration which means and activation in her optic nerve- basically, you vibrate so fast she can't see you coming."

Barry shrugged. "Worked against DeVoe," he agreed. "Let's try it out."

And he flashed toward his suit and away.

 **Flash!**

The plan worked... and then it didn't. The problem with having only one person in the field at a time was that when the bad guy played the whole "save the person or stop me" card, you really had to pick one or the other. Null played exactly that card, and picked her way out of the metahuman cuffs and ran off while Barry was saving a screaming man from a falling car.

"Ugh!" Harry stormed after the failure, gripping his Thinking Cap. "This useless piece of trash is- is- _useless_ \- I'm so dumb I can't even come up with a good synonym for this _useless piece of trash_!"

"Harry," Caitlin murmured sympathetically. "No one could have predicted that Null would have picked herself out of the cuffs or taken a hostage."

Harry continued to rage, until just stormed out of the Cortex. "It's been almost a year, and where are we?!" he demanded. "WHERE IS DEVOE?!"

Barry dropped his head to his crossed arms. Caitlin sighed and looked away. It would be heartless to pull a I-Told-You-So on him at the moment. Part of her was kicking herself- she should have just gone out in the field with him. None of this would have happened.

"What?" Barry asked, gazing at her.

"Nothing," Caitlin sighed. "You went out into the field, you had a plan... and it didn't work."

"Harry's not wrong," Barry murmured. "DeVoe's gone after every possible outcome before making his plans."

"Which we can't do, and neither can Harry," Caitlin reminded him.

"Well, then what _are_ we supposed to do- ad-lib like Ralph wants us to?"

"Barry, you didn't see it, but when you were gone, Ralph really rose to the occasion," Caitlin told him. "He cracked jokes and he thought outside the box. He got the job done in the only way that he knows how. So the question is: are you upset with Ralph because he's screwing around, or because he's not following your plan?"

 **Flash!**

Null decided that, instead of just surrendering to Barry and Ralph (who Barry had talked to and un-benched), she would try to send every single person at a museum opening party into the atmosphere.

"Allen," Harry said. "You need to get everyone out of the, right now."

Barry glanced over at Ralph, nodded, and ran off, flashing every person who had been at the party away. "Alright, that's everyone."

"Where is she?" Ralph asked, looking around in confusion.

Before the words could even fully leave his mouth, Null had jumped down behind Barry and touched him.

"No!" Ralph yelled as Barry, in the wide open air, began to float towards space.

"Ah!" he yelped. "Ah- no! Ohhh!"

"Live and fly, Flash!" Null yelled after him, grinning. "Now back to business."

Gritting his teeth, Ralph reared back and swung his arm into the sky. It shot up, stretching further and further as Barry floating all too quickly into the stratosphere. He looked down and saw Ralph's arm just barely missing his foot before elasticizing back down to his body with a snap.

It was no good- Barry was too far up.

"Guys!" Ralph yelled. "I can't reach him!"

Iris looked around at the rest of the Team, trying to get an idea. "You have to breach him somewhere."

"He's too high in the atmosphere," Cisco said. "I don't have aim like that."

"Let Ralph improvise!" Barry said suddenly.

"What?" everyone in the Cortex asked.

"What?!" Ralph echoed, eyes blowing wide.

"Yes, just- do something Dibney-esc- be your own hero just- do it fast!" Barry cried, air thinning and getting colder as he continued to fly higher and higher into the atmosphere.

"Uh, Dibney-esc, right, um..." Ralph muttered, looking around for inspiration.

"All about that bling," Null murmured, gazing at the very large diamonds that were on display for the museum opening. Squinting in concentration, Ralph reached out, and a second later Null was looking down in surprise at a pair of power dampening cuffs strapped around her ankles.

"Ralph!" Barry suddenly yelled, and his altitude meter began to drop rapidly.

Caitlin's eyes went wide. "That was your plan?!" she demanded. "He's gonna fall to his death!"

"I know what I'm doing!" Ralph argued.

"Anytime, Ralph!" Barry gasped.

"Ten thousand feet," Caitlin read off. "He's falling fast." She suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming fear wash over her and reached to grip Iris' hand. Iris glanced over at her, squeezing back. "Five thousand feet."

Barry let out a blood-curdling scream as he continued to plummet. Right before, impact, Caitlin shut her eyes. The noise would be terrible. He would smack into the ground and splat like a bug. She felt a wave of nausea rising and squeezed Iris' hand tighter.

Instead of a splat, they heard a very rude noise coming from the coms. Iris sat back. "Ralph did it," she breathed incredulously.

He had done it... by turning into a whoopie cushion at the last second and breaking Barry's fall.

As relieved as Barry was, the noise really was ridiculous. "Classy," Harry muttered, turning and walking out of the room.

Sighing, Caitlin sat back as they waiting for Ralph to deflate so Barry could come home.

 **Flash!**

After everything settling down, Caitlin decided to go home and get some rest. This pregnancy was making sleep rather more difficult than normal- she swore she had to get up every hour to pee; it was ridiculous.

By the time Barry got back, Caitlin had fallen asleep on the couch and someone else had taken over.

"Frost!" Barry said in surprise as he walked into his living room.

Frost was stretching out across the couch, looking unamused. "Hey handsome," she greeted. "Now tell me what you've been doing with Caitlin that makes every single part of my body hurt?"

Barry wasn't sure exactly what to say. "I haven't been doing- well I mean... I mean I _did_ something but like- hasn't Caitlin told you?"

Frost raised her eyebrow. "Contrary to popular belief, Caitlin and I actually _can't_ talk to each other," she huffed. "So spill, Flashy, before I freeze a finger off."

Barry held up his hands, slightly terrified for his life. "Um," he started. "Uh, I don't really know how to say this, but... Caitlin's pregnant."

Frost blinked. Then:

"She's _what_?!"

 **Author's Note: Someone wanted to see Frost's reaction so... here you go. You actually wanted to see her face but I only have words we we'll go with that XD**

 **Sorry this chapter was borrrrring- next chapter should be better! I've started doing some research on the different stages of pregnancy, so I'm a bit better informed. My biggest problem at the moment is that I don't have a clear idea of how much time passes during and between each episode, so this is really all guesswork.**


	18. 4x18

**Author's Note: I was all like, "This chapter's gonna be better" last chapter but in all honesty I have no idea what happened in this episode.**

 **The ending is when we lose Frost, right? Phew I'm glad I put in that scene last chapter.**

 **AHH I REMEMBER NOW THIS CHAPTER IS WHERE I GOT MY THUMBNAIL PICK YAYYYYY :D :D :D :D**

"That's the big news?" Cisco said, looking incredulously at Harry as they all stood around him in the Speed Lab. "You're taking sculpture classes at the Community College?"

"It's not art," Harry countered. "It's SCIENCE!" His voice echoed impressively. "And as such, it is the thing that is going to help us defeat-" he took a second and ripped off a tarp covering a mannequin with a cardboard DeVoe face on it. "DeVoe. Recall the one thing that we've seen- nay, _heard_ , that can actually harm DeVoe."

"Izzy Bowen's sound wave powers," Iris said.

"Yeah, and she was killed by DeVoe, so whatever powers she had are in his hands now," Joe reminded Harry.

"And now, Joe," Harry said. "They're in ours. Watch this. Actually you should... take a few steps back if you value your internal organs."

Caitlin glanced over at Barry and he looked at her stomach. "Should be fine," she murmured. "I... think."

Harry turned around and smacked the branching, fork-shaped, super-flat stick against the ground. A wave of energy spiraled out of the fork and slammed into the fake DeVoe in the chair. It sent the whole thing up the ramp and broke it into pieces in a second.

Barry cringed. "I know how that feels," he muttered."

"One strike," Harry said. "It incapacitates the Thinker. Two strikes? No more Thinker. I call it... the Sonic Scepter."

"Okay," Cisco said, nodding appreciatively. "Points for alliteration."

"So it's basically just a big tuning fork?" Caitlin spoke up.

Harry shook his head. "My _goodness_."

"Well, I mean..." Cisco was peering at the metal object curiously. "It's not just any tuning fork. It must be the most powerful tuning fork in the multiverse. You must have laser-shaved this thing down to a hair."

"Shaved it right down," Harry agreed. "As a matter of fact, child's play for me and my Thinking Cap. The Sonic Scepter mimics Izzy Bowen's sonic frequency so we can penetrate the impenetrable force field of DeVoe. And here's the best part: Because there's no tech involved-"

"It's Killgore proof," Barry finished, nodding in approval. "Nice."

"So, now we just need to figure out where DeVoe's gonna appear next," Iris said.

Harry looked like a cocky chicken. "As a matter of fact, before you got here, I did a little work on the pocket dimension predictor, and I got a massive head-start. DeVoe's next location, thank you."

"Wait, I thought you said that wasn't possible?" Caitlin spoke up quizzically.

"That's right!" Harry proclaimed. "I did say that yesterday. But today is a new day; I've got a million new ideas. This Thinking Cap- f-f-f-f firing on all cylinders. Onward," he declared, sticking his hand into the air and starting to stride purposefully towards the door. "And upward!"

"Okay," Iris shrugged. "Let's get to it. Cisco, can you integrate Harry's algorithm into the predictor?"

Cisco winked and pointed a finger at her. "I can," he said.

The rest of the filed out of the Cortex, and Caitlin hurried up to her lab. She had a little side-project that she wanted to continue.

Iris found her clicking away. "What're you working on?" she asked, walking up the steps into Caitlin's lab.

"My brain, or, brains," Caitlin told her, eyes still locked on her computer screen. "I think I've finally figure out the science behind what activates Killer Frost. In Fight or Flight, the adrenal glands flood the body with what you may know as the stress hormone. And guess where the highest concentration of Dark Matter is in my body?"

"In your adrenal glands," Iris answered, nodding in understanding.

"Exactly," Caitlin agreed. "So if adrenaline wakes up Killer Frost, all I'll need is a shot of epinephrine."

She held up a syringe that was lying on her desk triumphantly. "No more Harry and Cisco traumatizing me to get Killer Frost to show up. I'm sure Barry will be excited, too... he's been wanting to spend more time with Frost since they talked about the baby. Apparently she was _super_ freaked out and he talked her thought it. Isn't her just amazing?"

"Yes he is," Iris agreed, smiling fondly.

"I can't wait to tell Frost," Caitlin grinned.

"Wait," Iris took paused. "You guys... talk now?"

"Sort of," Caitlin shrugged. "We leave each other notes. It's a system we developed a little bit ago when we were both seriously annoyed about not knowing what's going on all the time." She reached across her desk and plucked a sticky note off of a test tube. " 'Thanks for the awesome new jacket. I got some blood on it- don't worry, it's not ours'."

She giggled and glanced up at Iris, who looked faintly alarmed.

Sighing, Caitlin put the sticky note back down. "I guess her humor is sort of an... acquired taste."

Iris was saved answering by the alarm that began to blare in the Cortex. "Uh oh," Caitlin said, glancing at her screen. "It looks like a breach is about to open. It's DeVoe."

"Go get that pen ready," Iris told her, already heading towards her desk.

In a few minutes, Caitlin had injected herself with epinephrine, changed into Killer Frost, and was leaping through a breach with Cisco, Barry and Ralph.

"Okay," Barry said, getting into a half-running position with the Sonic Scepter held in his right hand. "Get ready."

They all braced themselves as a pocket dimension breach opened on the sidewalk, fracturing the air into geometric silver-and-white fractals. Frost held her breath, waiting.

There was a flash of light and a man stepped out of the breach.

Instead of DeVoe, however, or one of the many bodies he had taken over during the past year, a youngish man with a long dark ponytail stepped onto the pavement, whistling. He was wearing a purple robe, pajama pants and slippers, and holding a letter which he was reading as he walk.

Frost blanched and glanced over at Barry for some sort of idea of what to do. He looked just as confused as she felt as the man moseyed over to the mailbox standing at the side of the road and popped his letters in.

"Edwin Gauss?" Barry asked, straightening up.

Edwin's head shot up and he jumped nearly a mile before falling backwards into a breach.

The heroes stood, blinking in confusion at each other, before Cisco shrugged and jumped into a breach of his own. Ralph glanced between Frost and Barry and began to walk home.

Frost looked over at Barry. "Well wasn't that exciting," she said dryly.

Barry pulled a face. "Sorry, didn't mean for you to come out for nothing."

"Not for nothing," Frost winked and sauntered over to peck Barry on the cheek. "I got to see you, handsome."

Leaving Barry spluttering because it was his wife's face but it wasn't his wife but was it his wife and if it wasn't had he just cheated on her? Frost walked off and began to head back to STAR labs.

 **Flash!**

"Alright guys, say hello to our last known bus meta, Edwin Gauss," Iris said after the group re-convened in the Cortex. "As we know there's not much on him; no college history, no known addresses, just a couple of old backpacking photos on an old message board."

"Old?" Cisco said flatly, looking up. "Flip-phones are old. This is from the age of dial-up. Try _prehistoric_."

"No digital fingerprint," Joe continued. "Everything this guy owns is strapped to his back. He was off-grid before he was even a meta."

"That," Iris tagged on. "And his powers are the reason we couldn't find him."

"And why there were twelve heat signatures on the bus, including the driver," Caitlin added.

Barry glanced over. "Cisco, the way he appeared and disappeared..?"

"Pocket dimension," Cisco shrugged.

Ralph looked over at him sharply. "What? Like- like the DeVoe kind?"

"No," Cisco said slowly. "Like the Edwin Gauss kind. You see, pocket dimensions, like the one you see here, are unique to their users. Just like DeVoe can only enter and exit his, Gauss too is limited to his own pocket dimension."

"So, why does DeVoe need him?" Caitlin wondered.

"Well," Iris replied. "DeVoe uses his chair to create pocket dimensions. If DeVoe steals his powers, he won't need it."

"So, we need to catch Gauss first," Joe said.

"And we will!" Harry proclaimed, striding into the Cortex with his Cerebral Inhibitor in his arms like a baby. "Sorry I'm late; just tweaking the cap. Listen: locating the meta is not a task we have to accomplish. Why is that, Harry? Well, I'll tell you why: It's because we _already have_."

He pressed a button on his computer and a map of Central City flew up onto the big screen. "This is the map that we constructed of all the pocket dimension activity throughout Central City."

"Right, but that's when we thought all the pocket dimensions belonged to DeVoe," Caitlin spoke up. "Now we don't know whether they belong to him or to Gauss."

"And figuring out those distinctions..." Cisco pulled a face. "I'm sorry, but that's too big even for your britches, Harry."

"My britches are plenty big," Harry huffed. Caitlin, Cisco and Barry exchanged weirded out glances. "Okay? I'll fill my britches. Watch this, okay? By simply tracking the trillions of identifiers, cross referencing the fluctuation migration patterns in the temporal displacement and the energy and-" he pressed another button with vehemence. "I give you... Edwin Gauss's pocket dimension activity."

Even for Caitlin's science-smart brain, he had _way_ surpassed her in his reasoning. But he had gotten results, and she supposed that that was all that mattered.

"Ahhhh!" Harry whisper-screamed. "Harry is amazing!"

"Uh, yeah," Iris said, giving him a side-eye. "Let's just all split up and search these different locations for Edwin Gauss. Barry, you take Caitlin and Ralph and I'll go with Cisco and my dad. Harry-"

"I'll go with you."

"No, I was thinking that you could just stay here, and hold down the fort."

Harry nodded. "Okay," he said agreeably, already heading for the door. "I'll tweak the cap."

Barry smiled over at Caitlin. "We haven't gone on an adventure the two of us in awhile," he said happily.

"Reminder, Allen," Ralph said, walking over and clapping Barry on the back. "I'm gonna be right there breathing down your neck the _whole time_..."

He waggled his fingers and backed out of the room, leaving Caitlin and Barry to roll their eyes and get ready to go.

 **Flash!**

Barry flashed Caitlin and Ralph to one of the pocket dimension locations and the three of them began to walk slowly through the forest they had found themselves in. In front of them stretched a layout of colorful tents, people making large bubbles, and crackling fireplaces.

"Guys..." Barry murmured. "Where are we?"

"Looks like some sort of hippy encampment," Caitlin said, frowning thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Ralph cringed. "Smells like one, too. Guys, I think I figured out DeVoe's plan: he means to suffocate us with BO and incense."

"Yeah, well this is the biggest pocket dimension spot on our list," Barry said, brushing a bubble away. It popped in his face instead and Caitlin shook her head, wondering what he had really been trying to achieve there. "So just... do you see Gauss anywhere?"

"Uhh..." Ralph glanced around and then walked up to a random person and held out a photo. "Unwashed flower child. Have you seen this man?"

"Nope," the man said, grinning blindingly. "But I've seen the soul that belongs to this man. The dude's aura is a trip."

"Wait, so you know Edwin Gauss?" Barry confirmed, looking confused.

The man nodded. "Sure do. Round here we call him... the Folded Man."

Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed. " 'Folded Man'?"

"He's everywhere," the hippie said. "But... nowhere. But mostly he's around here." He turned to the rest of the crowd and waved. "Time for the reflection hike, everyone! Don't forget to leash your spirit animals!"

"Okay, let's just search for Gauss," Barry said as the group of hippies began to filter towards a denser part of the woods. "Stay in touch over the coms."

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed. She put her hands together in a yoga-namaste position and grinned goofily. "I will leash my inner penguin spirit animal and head south."

Barry nodded, smiling at her cuteness. "Be careful," he called after her, before setting of in another direction with Ralph.

It actually didn't take long for Caitlin to locate their target. She found him walking in slow circles around a few trees, petting their bark and gazing at the sky. "Edwin Gauss..?" she said slowly, stepping forward.

"Ah!" he yelped, leaping backwards. "You're- icy lady- with the white hair!" With that, he took off running into the woods.

Groaning, Caitlin broke into a run and set off after him. "Guys!" she called into the coms. "I've got eyes on Gauss. He's _fast_ for a non-speedster!"

Seconds later, Barry flashed directly in front of Gauss, stopping him and taking him down with a hand on his chest. Gauss lay on the ground, panting and eyes terrified.

"Whoa- whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Gauss cried. "Easy now. I give up."

"We're not cops," Barry told him. "But you are in danger and we're here to protect you."

"Oh," Gauss panted, relieved. "Right." He glanced past Caitlin and smiled widely. "Is that why you brought your ninja buddy?"

Barry's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wha-"

At that second, a searing pain sliced through Caitlin's shoulder. She gasped, looking down to see at least half a blade sticking through her. Then it was pulled back and Caitlin was flung into the air.

Barry was moving before he realized exactly what had happened. He grabbed the sword, sliced the Samaroid's head off, and flashed a couple feet away to catch Caitlin. His wife fell lightly into his arms and he held her protectively as the Samaroid's head slid off of it's neck and crashed to the ground.

"Caitlin!" Ralph cried, shocked.

"Bring Gauss to STAR Labs," Barry ordered Ralph before flashing off, in his worry for Caitlin not caring one bit that he was leaving two bus metas alone and at the mercy of DeVoe.

Caitlin let out a small groan, shoulder burning with pain. A couple moments later, as Barry was racing into the medical lab and laying her down on a gurney, her hair and skin were leached of color and her shoulder got a weird cloud of frost around it. Barry carefully moved her jacket and shirt aside, watching in wonder as the edges of the cut turned icy and began to sew themselves back together.

By the time Ralph and Gauss arrived twenty minutes later, Caitlin had woken up. She brushed off Barry's concern and reached for her ultrasound equipment. "Are you sure you're okay?" Ralph asked worriedly as she rubbed the handle over her now healed shoulder.

"Yeah, I mean the wound started healing before I even woke up," Caitlin told him, tank top strapped moved down her bicep for better access. Barry watched her, eyes soft, reveling in how absolutely beautiful (and unharmed) she looked.

"You frosted out for a sec when we got here; it probably helped," he spoke up as she shrugged her jacked up onto her shoulders.

"Yeah," Caitlin nodded, smiling at him. "Thanks for catching me, I appreciate it."

"I think that's part of my job description," he teased, winking at her.

"Hey," Ralph called as Caitlin started to head out of the lab. "Shouldn't you rest?"

"Honestly, I'm fine," Caitlin shrugged, not even a little lingering pain in her shoulder. Frost truly was amazing. "If anything, this has just made me ever more determined to get DeVoe." She nodded over at Barry. "I'm going to go help Cisco with that pocket dimension predictor."

Barry nodded and leaned forward to kiss her. She smiled against his lips before pulling away and leaving the room.

 **Flash!**

Ralph had gotten it into his head that it would be a good idea to try and take Edwin Gauss and have him open a pocket dimension so he could find DeVoe and fight him himself. Barry had put a stop to it, resorting to knocking Ralph out and then talking with him after he woke up.

The whole Team was waiting when he walked out of Caitlin's lab and into the Cortex. "Well," Barry said. "Ralph was... misguided, but he had a half-good idea."

"Which half?" Cisco asked.

"To use Edwin Gauss' pocket dimension powers to get into DeVoe's lair."

"Yep," Cisco said. "That's the half I was afraid of."

"It can't get more dangerous than this," Barry said, looking around at each of them. "So if we go, everyone needs to sign off."

"You have lead this Team through every danger there is," Joe said, looking at Barry. "So, if you think this'll stop DeVoe from claiming any more lives then... let's go get him."

"I mean, dang Joe, when you put it all John McClane like that of course I'm in," Cisco said, walking around his desk to stand beside Joe.

"I'm in," Harry agreed.

Caitlin smiled at her husband. "I don't even need to ask Killer Frost how she votes. We're in too."

"Me too," Iris agreed. "So it's settled. Tonight we take on the Thinker."

 **Flash!**

Frost was slinging on her blue jacket when Barry came up to her, already in his Flash suit. "You ready?" he asked. "I know Caitlin kinda just signed you up."

Frost winked at him. "Handsome, I would catch a grenade for you," she teased. "Let's hope I don't have to, though."

Barry smiled slightly and shook his head, amused. "Look, how does this whole thing work?" he asked. "I mean, Caitlin and I are married. And you're Caitlin's, um, other personality. So... are we married?"

"Honey, I've got no idea," Frost laughed. "I am whatever you want me to be. But trust me- you are my one and only crush object, so you don't have to worry about me dating any other guys in Caitlin's body. That would be _awkward_." She frowned slightly, glancing down at herself. "Awkward like the fact that you guys had some sexy-times and got me pregnant and I wasn't invited."

Barry's face nearly matched his suit. "You were- I just assumed- we didn't really think-"

"Chill, handsome, I'm just teasing you," Frost laughed, patting his shoulder. She sobered up slightly. "Caitlin told me about how I'm... putting some extra strain on her body. Just... watch out for her in the field today, okay? I don't need her passing out and DeVoe sucking me out of her body."

Barry nodded, face falling. "You know I always keep an eye out for her- both of you. I promise I'm not going to let him take you away."

Frost's chin dipped and she looked away. "I guess we should probably get going," she murmured. "Don't want to keep the others waiting."

Still a little thrown by the sudden turn the conversation had taken, Barry nodded again and followed her out of the Cortex and towards the Speed Lab.

In just a few minutes, Edwin had opened up a Pocket Dimension and Cisco, Barry, and Frost were stepped through. Barry had left instructions for Edwin to open the dimension back up in fifteen minutes, and then close it, with or with out them. Permanently.

When they walked through the fractals of shifting grey light, they entered the strange blue-lit room that Barry had been prisoner in. DeVoe's giant chair was front and center, and as it began a slow turn, Barry got ready with the scepter.

But as the waves of air flew from the tech and toward the chair, it did absolutely nothing.

"It didn't work," Cisco muttered as DeVoe's face smirked slightly.

"Why would it?" DeVoe asked lightly. "Sound has no effect... on a hologram."

Suddenly, her image flickered. Barry slowly straightened up, eyes wide as the chair and DeVoe vanished. "If DeVoe's not here, then..."

He trailed off, exchanging horrified looks with Frost and Cisco. There was only one place he would be:

 _STAR Labs_.

 **Flash!**

Cisco, Barry and Frost got back into STAR Labs to find Iris crumpled on the floor, blood soaking her jacket. Cisco sprinted over to her side as Barry looked around. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Iris assured Cisco as he helped her sit up. "The others are still out there fighting DeVoe and the Samurai."

Just then, Joe walked into the Cortex carrying the Samurai's head, stuck on a sword. "Now it's just DeVoe," he said, darkly and angrily, before hurrying over to his daughter. "Iris."

"I'll be okay," Iris said again. "We just need to get DeVoe."

"Breach us to him," Frost told Cisco, feeling the thrill of the chase tingle in her toes. "I'm ready to get blood on this jacket."

"That blow back in the liar blew out my breaching," Cisco grumbled, hand on Iris' back as she wheezed in pain.

Barry looked up. "I'll find him," he said, and flashed off.

They were waiting in the Cortex when all the screens clicked on with the same footage. DeVoe, now in Edwin's stocky body, was standing behind Ralph who was on his knees. Barry was nowhere to be seen. Frost's eyes went wide as they heard Barry's voice: "Fight it alright? Fight it! I'll save you."

It was then that they all realized that DeVoe had his hand on Ralph's head. The superheroes face was glowing and orange salmon streaked with black and he was jerking like he was having a seizure.

DeVoe was sucking his life out.

Ralph's eyes were wide, and he looked somewhere off camera that they couldn't see. "You already did, Barry," he murmured, before his head dropped and Edwin fell behind him, dead.

Barry's scream ripped through the sound feed, and Frost took off running.

"Wait!" Cisco cried, grabbing her arm. He raised his gauntlet and grit his teeth, letting out a cry of pain as a breach flickered open in the Cortex.

The two of them leapt through and Cisco fell to one knee. He touched his ear and it came away with blood on his fingers. There wasn't much time to take stock of the situation however; DeVoe-Ralph's head slowly rose again, life back in his eyes.

Barry, glued to the floor by one of the many powers DeVoe now had, finally had the idea to phase. He vanished through the cement, leaving Frost and the fairly-incapacitated Cisco to face DeVoe alone. Frost had no question that he would be back, however.

He had promised not to let DeVoe take her from Caitlin. He better keep that promise.

In a second, Barry had flashed back into the room and picked up the Sonic Scepter. He was about to hit it against the ground when DeVoe held out a lazy arm and shot him with a blast of energy. Barry went flying backward and up the incline to the running circle.

Cisco was up next, running at DeVoe with a breach-blast. DeVoe opened up a pocket dimension, caught the blast, then released it directly to Cisco's left through another dimension. Cisco was tossed backward and crashed into the wall.

With both her boys down, Frost had had enough. She grit her teeth and grabbed at DeVoe's shoulder, ready to stab him through with an icicle.

DeVoe looked at her. Ralph had never had an expression so cold. "Nope," he murmured, and suddenly something was wrong.

Frost's eyes flickered. She dropped her icicle with a gasp and stumbled forward. When she looked up again, it was Caitlin staring in horror at DeVoe.

With one smooth movement, DeVoe picked her up with the levitation powers and blasted her back. She hit the rim of the ramp-entryway and fell, cracking her head against the floor when she landed.

Everything went black.

 **Flash!**

When she woke up, Barry wasn't by her side. Through an opening in the door she could see the Team, speaking in low voices to one another. Iris and Cisco walked off together after a bit, Joe following them. Caitlin watched it all happen like she was looking through a screen.

She remembered how she had felt when Barry had left. It was like her heart had been ripped out and something had taken a bite of it before carelessly throwing it back in her chest. She had felt like there was a gaping wound inside of her, unseeable and without any physical effects. There was nothing she could do.

Right now, she felt a lot like that. Except... she wasn't heartbroken. Of course she was torn up about Ralph but he hadn't left her with a piece of herself missing. But there was something wrong. Something... off.

Caitlin placed her hand on her stomach and a jolt of fear went through her. _Something was wrong and she needed Barry. Now_.

Barry was still in the Cortex when she walked in. "Hey," he said, looking up. "It's raining outside and-"

"Barry," Caitlin said, her voice shaking. "Can you get Harry and Cisco? I think something's wrong."

A few minutes later the four of them were crammed into Caitlin's lab. It was decorated with pastel-colored sticky notes, stuck across her computer, her desk, and her office supplies.

"Well, your vitals seem okay," Cisco said, putting down his scan.

"Everything looks normal," Harry agreed, reading off the tablet.

"And the baby?" Barry asked anxiously. His hand was on her shoulder, his grip tight. He only seemed half there.

Harry shrugged. "Seems fine to me," he said. "Heartbeat is normal. Breathing steady. No sporadic movements."

"You have to run the tests again." Caitlin was cross-legged on the bed. Her hands were shaking. "There's some feeling... I don't know what it was, but-"

Her eyes landed on Cisco, who was staring off into space. "You touched DeVoe," he muttered. "Hand me the Dark Matter scanner."

Caitlin knew what the answer was before Cisco had even finished the scan. He folded the scanner up in his hands, voice soft. "There's no trace of Dark Matter anywhere in your body."

With those words, Caitlin finally put a finger on what was so _empty_ inside of her.

 _Frost was gone_.

 **Author's Note: OKAY CHILLLLL BEFORE YOU HOP TO THAT COMMENT BOX!**

 **I know a lot of you wanted me to keep Frost alive. But this is such a big plot for Caitlin! I couldn't just throw it away. Besides, it's SUPER important to a lot of other parts of the upcoming story. And beyond that, couples are more fun to write when one of them is hurting... or both, like Barry and Caitlin are right now.**

 **So... kinda a sorry-not-sorry? ;)**


	19. 4x19

**Author's Note: Whoooooooa everyone calm down YES I posted a new chapter NO I am not back for good but I'm... back for kind of. If that makes any sense?**

It was nearly three am when Caitlin woke up with a gasp and flew to a sitting position. Barry rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his forearm. "Cait?" he mumbled. "Are you okay?"

Gasping for breath, Caitlin wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Barry, I- I can't do this. We can't do this. We're crazy. We're _superheroes_ ; how are we supposed to raise a child?" And she burst into sobs.

Alarmed, Barry sat up and pulled her into his arms. "Hey, hey, hey, Caitlin, calm down," he murmured. "What's going on? Where did this come from?"

"I had this- this dream," Caitlin blubbered. "That we- we had the baby and- and DeVoe was still around and he needed the baby's powers for some reason and he- he took its body just like all the others. Except he- he just drained its life force and the body was just lying there on the ground, d-d- _dead- Barry did you know that right now there's the most chance of a miscarriage-"_

"Hey, shhhh," Barry whispered soothingly, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "DeVoe is not going to kill our child, okay? I will not let that happen. _Ever_."

Caitlin shook her head, burying her face in his shoulder. "We haven't been able to save anyone we tried," she sobbed. "We couldn't save the metas and we could save Ralph and we couldn't save Frost- how can we- how can we protect our own child?"

Barry went stiff and Caitlin quickly pulled back. "Barry, I'm so sorry- I didn't mean-"

"No, no, it's alright." Barry tugged her back into his warm arms and leaned against the bed backboard. "I'm scared, too," he admitted in a voice barely above a whisper. " _God,_ I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life. But we are having this baby, even though everything is crazy and hectic. And I am going to do _everything_ in my power- _absolutely everything_ \- to make sure no harm comes to our child."

Sniffling slightly, Caitlin placed her hand on her stomach. "Something just feels so wrong," she murmured, thumb stroking her pajama shirt like her baby was actually there in her arms. "I... can't put my finger on it. I've tried running tests and everything comes back pretty normal. But I just... I just _feel_ -"

She broke off, because Barry's eyes had gotten distant and she realized he wasn't listening anymore. She leaned her head against his shoulder with a soft sigh, feeling his breath ruffle her hair. After they had realized Frost was gone, neither of them had gone home. Barry went to Ralph's office to clean up his stuff. He didn't want to talk.

Caitlin stayed in her lab for the rest of the night. She just didn't know what to do with how she was feeling so she buried herself in her other thoughts, using distraction to heal. When she finally allowed herself to peep out of the box she had locked around her thoughts, she had realized that something felt wrong. Something beyond the hole Killer Frost had left.

Caitlin wasn't usually afraid of sickness or medical issues. But she _was_ afraid of things she didn't understand. And she couldn't seem to pin this problem- this _feeling_ \- down with science and logic. She hated that. It made her feel vulnerable and, yes, scared.

For once, Barry wasn't being much help. He had almost completely withdrawn inside himself. He was glazed and barely spoke. It was a daily struggle just to get him to sit down and eat enough to keep him from passing out. Since they had gotten married, it was the most distant the two of them had been from each other, and it was starting to take its toll on Caitlin. She missed him. And she needed him more than ever.

But at the same time, she understood. He had just lost Ralph, and he felt responsible. She knew the feeling; she felt responsible for Frost vanishing, too.

None of the Team had long to mourn, however. DeVoe was still out there and besides him there were bad guys to fight and problems to solve. It wasn't long before there was a new alarm blaring.

"DeVoe?" Iris asked, striding into the room with Caitlin close behind. She was still in a sling from her battle with Marlize, but she would make an easy recovery.

"Satellites are picking up three different Pocket Dimensions opening in Keystone," Barry said. He glanced over his shoulder at Caitlin, eyes bright. "Let's use-"

He broke off abruptly and spun back around, pretending it hadn't happened. Caitlin tuned out, her face falling. It seemed like the Team, the City, heck, _Barry_ , had just started accepting Killer Frost. And now she was gone. And, what? Barry hadn't even remembered?

Cisco and Barry were heading for the door when Iris stopped them. "Whoa whoa whoa!" she called. "They all just closed."

"What?"

"Hm," Cisco muttered. "Wrong coordinates? Maybe he made a mistake?"

"He doesn't make mistakes," Barry replied. "He must want something in Keystone."

"Tracey's lab," Caitlin realized. "He's going after Fallout."

Barry nodded. "Call Tracey, tell her coming for him, okay?"

"Wait," Caitlin stopped him. "And... you're gonna do what?"

Barry shrugged cluelessly. "Just to- take him somewhere else!"

"Well, we can't take him here," Cisco said. " _We_ can't even contain his fallout."

"Tracey's barely been able to contain his powers as is," Caitlin reminded them.

"This guy is basically a nuclear explosion waiting to go off," Cisco said. "And- I don't know about you- but I have had my fill of nuclear bombs this year."

"Okay," Barry allowed. "But if we can cool him down, we can get him somewhere safe."

Caitlin squinted thoughtfully. "What about Snart's cold gun?"

Cisco shrugged. "Well, I have a prototype but to modify it to our needs... that would take at least a day."

"We don't have that kind of time; DeVoe's coming for him."

Iris shook her head. "DeVoe has anticipated our every move. We need to do something he doesn't expect."

"How are we supposed to get Fallout somewhere, cool him down, _and_ still throw DeVoe for a loop?" Cisco asked. "It's impossible."

"Call Lyla," Barry told Iris. "Lets see if Argus has anything off-the-grid."

"Okay," Iris agreed dubiously. "But even if they do what're we gonna do about the other two problems?"

"Barry?" Caitlin asked, searching her husband's face. He had on his 'about-to-get-an-idea' expression, which would either mean something very genius or something very stupid.

Or both.

 **Flash!**

His "about-to-get-an-idea" expression had led to his brilliant plan of bringing Snart from Earth X (nicknamed Leo) to come and help them plan.

"So," Leo recapped. "You're trying to fight a guy that acts like he's smarter than everyone, and his true-believe lover who are hell-bent on their evil machinations at any cost."

That seemed to sum it up nicely.

"That's right up my alley!" Leo exclaimed.

"Except DeVoe _is_ actually smarter than everyone, Leo," Barry warned him. "He created 12 metahumans just so he could steal their powers and he left everybody dead in the process."

"Including Ralph Dibney, who was a Team member of ours," Iris added.

"I'm sorry," Leo replied. "That's rough."

Barry brushed it aside. "All these deaths have been rough," he said. "We can't dwell on it right now. We have to focus so that DeVoe doesn't figure out what we're doing and we have a shot at saving Fallout. Which is why we came to you."

"Oh, I see," Leo nodded. "I'm just outside the box enough to catch DeVoe off guard."

"That," Iris agreed. "And we need your cold gun."

Leo popped his hand on top of it protectively. "Oh? For what?"

Caitlin gave him the rundown about their plans for a hazmat suit for Fallout, and how if that failed, Snart's cold gun would be their backup.

"What about your chilly friend?" Leo asked, frowning conspiratorially at Caitlin. "She doesn't want in on the fun?"

"She's gone," Caitlin said, and left it at that.

His eyes flashed with understanding before he turned around and checked his watch. "That's too bad. Alright! You get me for 24 hours. Not a minute more."

"Wait, why not?" Cisco asked, confused.

"Because I thought I'd make Ray an honest man," Leo said, stepping towards him and then flashing his left hand. A wedding band glittered on the fourth finger. "Tomorrow."

Barry's face lit up and a smile broke over Caitlin's face. "You're getting married? That's so exciting!"

Leo nodded and stepped forward to place his hands on Barry and Cisco's shoulders. "I figured if you two could make it, so could we."

The smiles faded off of Cisco and Barry's faces, replaced with confusion. "No-" Barry managed, pointing over at Caitlin. "We-"

"I tease," Leo cut him off, smirking.

"Oh," Cisco said, smiling and scratching his head uncomfortably.

They finished laying out the plan for Leo, before Iris went off to fill in Joe and Caitlin began her finishing tweaks on the hazmat suit for Fallout. It was nice to have something to focus her mind on, something _other_ than the emptiness she was feeling.

It wasn't long before the hazmat suit had been completed, and she, Joe and Leo were in the truck with Fallout. Joe was in the drivers seat, and Caitlin was on diagnostics in the bed of the truck, Leo with her. "Rads are good," she reported to Iris. "Heartbeat regular."

With Fallout confirmed to be stabile, Caitlin tucked her iPad pad under her arm. To her surprise, her hand brushed a pale sticky note stuck to the side of her jacket that she hadn't noticed when she put it on. Reading the message, she laughed a little. Leo raised his eyebrow. "On Earth-X we have a saying... if you laugh out loud, you have to share the joke. By-product of living on an Earth where humor is a scarce commodity."

Caitlin smiled. "It's a post-it note," she told Leo. "From Killer Frost. It's how we talk." She paused and corrected herself. " _Talked_. 'Broke the thermostat again- I think it hates me'."

Leo smiled faintly at the message. "That's cute. Do you miss her?"

Caitlin shrugged a little, looking for the words to explain how she was feeling. She hadn't had to before now. No one had asked. "It's not that, it's just... we were starting to become close, lately. And I know how crazy that sounds considering we're talking about someone who actually _lived_ inside of me."

"I'm on an alt Earth transporting a human bomb with an escort that can literally run back to the future," Leo replied, smirking a little. "Your story is the least crazy thing I've heard all day."

Caitlin laughed a little. "One things for sure," she said with a soft sigh. "I will miss those little notes."

Leo shrugged. "Alter-ego or not, it's okay to miss someone you've lost," he said.

As if the words 'miss' and 'loss' had a summoning effect, Barry appeared in the truck. "How's he doing?" he asked Caitlin.

"Good," Caitlin replied, glancing down at her iPad to re-check. "His rads are low, vitals seem stabile... I gave him a sedative and it seems to be working."

Barry nodded quickly. He seemed anxious, buzzing with nervous energy. "Okay, good, we're almost there-"

"Guys," Iris interrupted through the coms. "There's pocket dimension activity!"

As she was still speaking, the truck went zero-G. Caitlin held on to her iPad for dear life as she, Leo, Fallout and Barry all floated towards the ceiling. Then, with a bone-rattling crash, the entire truck slammed back to the ground.

"Dad!" Iris called.

"Doors are unlocked," Joe replied, grunting a little. "But- the door is stuck. It weighs a ton." Then: "Iris. Iris?"

"Coms are out," Barry realized, struggling to his feet. "DeVoe's here."

In seconds, he had gotten the rest of the way up and flashed himself and Leo out of the van. Caitlin groaned herself upright and hurried over to Fallout, keeping her eyes on the iPad readings while straining her ears for any thread of conversation from outside. But through the metal of the walls, Caitlin was unable to hear anything until a sudden scream came from outside.

But not a human scream. Not Barry's.

A _canary_ scream.

"That's it," Fallout cried, unstrapping himself from his chair and hopping to his feet. "I'm leaving."

Caitlin darted in front of him. The plan had gone south but there was still a tiny chance they could keep Fallout safe. "No! I need you to stay here and _calm down_. Neil, wait-!"

It was too late. Fallout yanked open the truck's doors and sunlight poured inside. Caitlin froze. Laurel Lance (but it had to be her doppelgänger, because the Earth 1 Laurel Lance was dead) was standing holding a chunky gun at Joes head. "I want you all to listen to me very carefully," she ordered. "And hopefully I won't have to raise my voice. This truck is now _mine_."

Caitlin's mouth fell open a little. They had wanted unexpected... but this had surprised even them.

 **Flash!**

Barry was lost. Not physically lost- he was in the Cortex with Leo and Iris and Cisco, trying to come up with a plan. But he was emotionally and mentally lost. They had no way of finding Caitlin or Joe because the hazmat suit negated Fallout's radiation signature. This certain version of the Black Canary wasn't even one they had dealt with before; she was from Leo's Earth and hunting him. And all anyone seemed concerned about was that Barry had lost his focus in the field. That didn't matter. His _wife_ and his _dad_ were being held hostage by someone now in the possession of a cold gun _and_ a living nuclear bomb. Not only that, but Barry's focus _had_ slipped, and it was all because of Ralph.

Again. Lost.

Leo took it upon himself to come and talk with him. "What'd you see out there, Barry?" he called as a way of announcing himself, walking into the Speed Lab. "When you... froze up?"

Barry refused to look at him, eyes on the map of the city in front of him. "Nothing," he muttered.

"You just got two of your teammates captured _and_ almost got me killed," Leo pushed, walking further into the room. "So you explain what happened... or I leave."

"I saw Ralph," Barry admitted finally.

"Ah. So his death is messing with you again."

He shook his head. "No. It's not that. Do I miss him? Yes. Do I regret what happened? Of course. But I don't need lessons in loss! What I need to do right now is lead my team and find my _wife_."

"You lead them to their deaths if you don't deal with this," Leo said.

Anger bubbled in Barry's stomach. He was dealing with enough already. "Back off," he said firmly.

"You need to grieve him, Barry," Leo continued, as if he hadn't even heard.

"Grief is a luxury I don't have time for."

" _Make time!_ " Leo yelled.

"I can't!" Barry exploded, before all his anger leached out of him. "Not... Ralph. Not Frost. Not right now."

"So we finally reach the core," Leo said softly, coming around on the other side of the monitor Barry wasn't really watching anymore. "You don't _want_ to grieve this one, so Ralph's death must be... different from all the other losses you've experienced. But why? Why... Barry, trust me. There is no... _outrunning_ grief." He paused. "That was a pun; I'm sorry."

Barry didn't reply, continuing to stare at the screen in front of him. Leo drummed his fingers along the edge and then slowly left the Speed Lab. Barry let out a breath. He wasn't ready to deal with this.

And when he finally was- if he ever was- it would be in the safety and comfort of his and Caitlin's home, with her to hold him when he shattered.

 **Flash!**

Siren-X had forced Fallout to take the helmet of his hazmat suit off. Luckily for Caitlin and Joe, she had given them anti-radiation injections before they set out, so they remained alright as every officer in the CCPD collapsed. Unluckily... they didn't have much time before the serum ran out.

Caitlin had managed to get Joe's bindings off and as Siren-X began screaming at Fallout, he ran forward. Before he could lay a hit on her she backhanded him across the room. Caitlin, still struggling with her own bindings, glanced up in concern.

A second later, Barry came speeding into the CCPD. Siren-X somehow anticipated the move and met him with a stream of sound-vibrations, sending Barry spiraling to the ground. "This is for destroying my world!" she yelled angrily, turning her head to get back to screaming at Fallout.

Fallout was starting to glow dangerously green. Her bonds finally slipping off, Caitlin darted forward and made for the cold gun that Siren-X had dropped. She tried not to think about how nice it would be to have Killer Frost right now. That wasn't a possibility at the moment, so there was no point in even considering it.

Caitlin made it to the cold gun at the same time as Leo ran into the room and activated his on Fallout. In moments, two streams of icy-blue cold and wave after wave of sound were shooting at Fallout. Then Siren-X stopped screaming and turned to Caitlin.

She opened her mouth and Caitlin was thrown backward by the sound-waves. She slid backward across the laminated floors of the CCPD and crashed into one of the desks. Dazed, she lay there as Siren-X turned her attention back to Fallout.

"Flash!" Leo yelled to Barry. She could just make him out across the room, opening his eyes and slowly lifting his head. "Get up. Get up! Flash? There gonna die, Flash."

Caitlin swallowed, trying to push herself off of the ground. Her head swam and she collapsed again. "Flash!" she cried as Fallout let out a groan, just barely stopping herself from using his real name. "Please!"

"Flash," Leo continued. "You have to deal with the pain! You can't get away from what's inside you so _stop trying_!"

Barry's head dipped and his eyes went wide with tears.

"Flash!" Caitlin yelled. " _It wasn't your fault_!"

Barry planted his fist on the ground and shoved himself up. In instants that probably felt like minutes to him, he had slammed into Siren-X. She flew back so hard that she hit the second story railing before crashing back down to the floor. Caitlin gritted her teeth as Fallout let out a scream, waves of toxic green gas flowing off of him. If Barry could get up, so could she.

She and Leo moved at almost the same time, grabbing their respective cold guns and aiming them at Fallout. After a few tense moments, Fallout's green aura vanished and Caitlin dove forward to stick the hazmat suit helmet on his head.

She fell back, panting, adrenaline coursing in her blood. "He's contained."

Relief was reigning, before Joe got a good look around. "Where's the Flash?"

Caitlin, Leo and Joe found Barry in his office. Joe glanced at Caitlin but she hesitated. Barry hadn't wanted to open up to her before. Maybe he needed someone else.

"Joe," she murmured. "You should-"

"No," he said firmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You _both_ just lost someone. You are exactly what he needs right now, and you always have been."

Fortified by his faith in her, Caitlin nodded and stepped slowly into the office. "Barry," she whispered as she walked towards them. He was standing, facing the window, propped up by raised, wide-spread arms. "What's going on?"

"He trusted me, Caitlin," Barry replied, voice stuffy with tears. He turned halfway, letting his arms drop. "I let him down. Ralph- I'm the reason he's dead."

"No," Caitlin murmured, walking towards him. "No."

"No I-" His voice broke as she put her arm around him and his tilted his cowl-covered head to rest against hers. "He was my responsibility and now he's gone."

Caitlin felt tears welling in her own eyes and she pulled Barry tighter. "It's alright," she whispered. "It's alright."

And for the first time since DeVoe had come in and destroyed both their lives, Caitlin thought it might be.

 **Author's Note: lkjalkjelkjlkjs;lfkjaelklkj SOMEONE HELP ME OH MY GOSHHH WHAT IT IS ABOUT THIS STORYYYY :''''')**

 **I'm not even kidding though. As cringy as this sounds, this story feels like home to me. It gives me an actual** ** _feeling_** **, inside of my chest, like a sort of comfortable warmth. I love ships. Some ships I think I might love even more than I once loved Snowbarry.**

 **But no ship is** ** _ever_** **going to feel as much like home to me as they do.**

 **Alrighttt I'm done being sappy and dramatic. Go blow up that review box ;)**


	20. 4x20

**Author's Note: Sooooo I've been leading up to the info that comes out in this chapter for awhile. PLEASE don't hate me. If I ever do a Snowbarry Season 5 or 6, which is kiiiinda doubtful but who knows, it will get resolved.**

 **But yeah... here we go. Now that you all are terrified aha XD**

 **ALSO I'm sorry I've been a little snappish about when I'm going to be updating this fanfiction. I'm just... it's touchy, you know? On the one hand, I'm really sick and tired of all of this. On the other hand, I feel** ** _incredibly_** **guilty for letting this story go, especially because it clearly means so much to all of you.**

 **I suppose I should say thank you for caring enough to bug me about it. So thanks ;) But PLEASE DON'T ASK ME IN A REVIEW ON AV HIGH! LEAVE MY PET AU ALONE! XD**

It was 11 at night on a Tuesday when Caitlin let out a cry. In seconds Barry, who had been lazily dozing in his chair, jolted upright. "Caitlin?" he asked, flashing over to her side.

She had collapsed into a chair, white as a sheet. "Oh my _God_ ," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes before the last word had even escaped. "Barry- Barry, the baby-"

Those were the last words that Barry had _ever_ wanted to hear. His blood ran cold and he fell on his knees beside Caitlin. "What?" he demanded, voice catching. " _What_."

"It's... wrong," Caitlin said finally. Her hand fell heavily to her stomach. "I've been- I've been feeling so _empty_ lately. I thought it was Frost, but..."

"What do you mean, it's wrong?" Barry asked in a trembling voice. "Like it's... it's... _dead_?"

Caitlin let out a sob, curling in on herself. "No, no, no," she cried, rocking back and forth. "I don't know- I don't-"

"Shhhh..." Barry pulled her into his arms and gripped her so tightly his fingers made marks on her skin. "Take me through it. What happened?"

Caitlin drew in a hyperventilating breath. "I wanted to- to check up because I was running tests on everything I had figured out about Frost, how her DNA is still there even without the dark matter. So I ran an ultrasound and- and everything's wrong. Its breathing is too slow and its heart rate is severely lowered and it hasn't- it hasn't grown right and- I should have _known_ because I hadn't progressed in my pregnancy at all and-"

She broke off into more quick, panting breaths. "It's okay," Barry whispered, though his own chest was tightening with panic. "Do you know what caused this?"

Theories. Hypothesis. Those were things that Caitlin could handle. She clenched her fists tight and struggled to get it together and _think_. "Yes," she said, with as much certainty as she could. "At least... I think I do. Do you... do you remember when our baby was, um... _created_?"

Barry raised an eyebrow, cheeks coloring. "Like... when we-?"

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed quickly. "There was one moment when I, like... frosted out for a second? It was only for a second, but... I think that Frost was apart of the- the conception."

"Okay..." Barry said slowly, sitting back, then shook his head. "No. Not okay. I have no idea where you're going with this."

"Frost was apart of the conception," Caitlin repeated. "So with- with her gone... the baby can't function like normal." She peered at Barry, waiting for the lightbulb to hit. He frowned, and she tried again. "I need Frost to continue to grow this baby in my stomach."

"Oh!" Barry realized, eyes going wide. "Oh. That's... not good."

She shook her head. "No. The baby is- is frozen like this until we can get Frost back. No pun intended, really." She reached out for Barry's hand, squeezing them as tightly as she could without hurting him. "But Barry I don't- I don't _know_ how to get Frost back. I don't know what to _do_." She let out another sob as her resolve to keep it together abruptly crumbled. "I just- I just wanted _one thing_ in our lives to go smoothly. _One thing!_ Was that so much to ask that our baby could just be healthy and- and _okay_?"

"Hey, hey," Barry murmured, rubbing her hands. "We will figure this out. I mean, honestly... this is probably the most powerful incentive we could ever have to figure something out. So we- we will."

As pep talks went, it wasn't one of his best, but Caitlin nodded. She ducked her face into his shoulder, her tears still coming, and he held her close.

This was the last thing he had _ever_ expected to happen to his child, but Caitlin needed him to be strong right now.

 **Flash!**

The first thing Caitlin and Barry did the next morning was work on the Frost problem.

They had decided the night before to keep the news of the baby to themselves, at least for now. The rest of the Team had enough on their plates, and Caitlin didn't want everyone to be stressed out on her behalf. Barry had understood where she was coming from, he almost always did, but at the same time he felt like their Team deserved to know the full amount that was at stake.

After some scientific consultation with Harry and Cisco, Caitlin was set up in the Speed Lab for some experimental get-Frost-back attempts.

"The thing to do to get Killer Frost to appear," Harry was saying as he connected a few wires to stickers on Caitlin's upper chest. "Is to get that massive spike in your adrenaline. So Ramon is going to use his vibes to _shake_ -" he jostled her shoulders, as a demonstration, "you on a cellular level and let's see if we can't get your old friend Killer Frost to come out to play."

Caitlin nodded her acquiescence.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Iris asked uncertainly. "And that it won't hurt the baby?"

Caitlin and Barry exchanged glances of barely-disguised misery as Harry shrugged and waved his hands in the air. "Well, I mean, like with any hypothesis, you test it to get answers- that's what we've all done since the fourth grade; it's known as the..."

He stopped talking abruptly and squinted a little. "Scientific method?" Barry supplied, raising his eyebrow.

"Right you are, Allen!" Harry cried, pointing a finger gun at him. "Of course. Ah!" He'd just spotted Cisco, who jogged into the Speed Lab with his hair bouncing behind him. "Here he is. Okay, good. So. Get in position!"

"Don't worry," Cisco said as he moved to his spot in front of Caitlin. "I lowered the amps on this thing. It'll be totally safe for your kiddo."

Caitlin felt a knot twist in her gut but she smiled weakly and gave him a thumbs up.

"Ramon, you set?" Harry asked.

"Yep."

"Snow, you ready?"

Caitlin narrowed her eyes a little and planted her feet, preparing herself as Cisco tucked his hair back behind his ears and raised his gauntlet-covered hand. "I'm ready."

"Three- two- one- and..."

Cisco let loose a fairly gentle vibe blast. The blue light went straight through Caitlin's midsection and out the other side and she spread her hands, waiting eagerly to feel Killer Frost overtake her body.

But she didn't feel anything at all.

Frowning, Caitlin glanced down at her body. "Nothing," she reported with a shrug.

"Alright, Ramon. More power," Harry ordered.

Cisco tried again, and this time Caitlin felt a little bit of a burn when the vibe hit her. But there was still no Killer Frost, and her frustration started to rise.

"You know what? This isn't working," Harry decided. "Ramon, full power."

Cisco looked at him uncertainly and Barry shook himself. "Whoa, whoa, hold on; what do you mean, full power?" he asked, looking at Harry with a slightly irritated expression on his face. "We don't want to blast Caitlin across the Speed Lab."

"Well, we want to spike her adrenaline," Harry said, shrugging blankly.

Now it was Iris' turn to look at him incredulously. "Harry, she could get injured."

"Well, I- this is- this is gonna work," Harry spluttered, making his way from the monitor back down to the floor of the Speed Lab. "Look, nothing has changed, alright? Snow's DNA tests- they confirm it. Her DNA was not spliced by Null's powers-"

"You mean Melting Point's powers," Caitlin corrected, shaking her head.

"Yeah- that's- right, yeah. That's what I said. Melting Point's powers."

Barry frowned. "Wait, but, Harry, there's no Dark Matter in her system anyway. We're just trying to spike her heart rate."

Harry looked bewildered. "What do you mean there's no Dark Matter?"

"Harry, you knew that," Iris reminded him. "We all did."

This, paired with mixing up the metas names, all added to the fact that he had forgotten what the _scientific method_ was called, was giving Caitlin some cause for concern. "Harry..." she said, peering at him. "Are you okay?"

It turned out that no, Harry wasn't okay. His use of his precious Thinking Cap had seriously overwhelmed his synapses, causing them to slow down. In other words... he was losing his intelligence.

It was a tough blow to the Team. Their only plan, really, had been to have Harry use his elevated cognitive abilities to outthink DeVoe. Now, Caitlin was worried that he'd walk into STAR Labs and not even know their names.

She offered to work on the problem, but Harry turned her down. He knew as well as the rest of them that their forefront issue was stopping DeVoe. Unfortunately, none of them knew exactly how anymore.

 **Flash!**

Caitlin found Barry pacing up and down the hallway when she got back from a quick lunch at Jitters. He, Iris and Cisco had just gone with Joe to their newest crime scene, where a super-solar-panel had been stolen and a security guard had committed suicide, both of which the Team figured out DeVoe was behind.

"Hey," Caitlin said, nodding her chin curiously at him. "You alright?"

"Hm?" Barry glanced up absently and rubbed his hand at the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, yeah, fine. How was lunch?"

Caitlin looked at him, unconvinced. "Barry," she said firmly. "Tell me what's going on."

"It's kind of stupid, really," Barry admitted. "It was just this... this security guard that supposedly killed himself, right? According to Joe he and his wife just had a baby. And it just like... any talk of babies and death right now is just... hard to hear, you know? Especially because, like... no one knows."

Caitlin bit her lip, reaching out to rub his arm. "I know," she said, letting out a sigh. "When everyone was reassuring me that the vibe blasts wouldn't hurt our baby, it was really hard not to just let it all out. But... with everything- and now with Harry, too? I just don't want this to be yet _another_ struggle on our plates."

"You're allowed to have a- a 'struggle'," Barry told her, reaching for her hand. "I know you don't want to burden anyone with this, Caitlin, but I don't know how long we - _I_ \- can keep this ruse up. When are we going to tell them that our baby is- is- whatever it is?"

"In stasis?" Caitlin supplied, before letting out a deep sigh. "I don't know, okay? But maybe- maybe we can get Killer Frost back and figure all of this out before any of them even need to know."

Barry looked displeased, so Caitlin sighed again and stepped a little closer, putting a hand on each bicep. "I promise," she said seriously. "If this goes on too long, we _will_ tell them. I won't keep this a secret forever. Just... let me have a little more time. Let me try a few more things to get Frost back." She smiled a little. "Let the Team be just one worry less for a little while longer."

"Fine," Barry relented, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "A little more time it is."

 **Flash!**

Gypsy had been brought in to help Cisco with the complicated task of vibing through DeVoe's usual defense layer. They figured out that DeVoe's next target would be a shipping container down by the dox, but instead of catching him, Cisco and Gypsy ended up locked in a serious argument, DeVoe escaped with a new piece of tech, and the Team was back to square one.

By the time Team Flash reconvened, Barry was trying to get Cisco and Gypsy onto the same page about whether Cisco wanted to replace Breacher on Earth 19 or not. He seemed to think that letting them both know how each other was feeling by telling them _himself_ would make it so that they could successfully covibe and actually doing a proper job of catching DeVoe this time.

Caitlin was both exasperated and amused by Barry's attempt. It was clear by the looks on Cisco and Gypsy's faces that it hadn't worked at all, a fact that was made even clearer when they tried to covibe on a piece of metal from the shipping container.

Instead of figuring out what DeVoe was planning, the two of them were thrown forcefully back. Iris ran over to Cisco and Caitlin and Barry hurried over to Gypsy. Thankfully, both of them were fine, but Caitlin herded them into her lab to make absolutely sure there was no lasting damage, physically or powerfully.

When she walked out of her lab about a half hour later, Barry glanced up worriedly. "Are they okay?" he asked.

She could tell he felt bad, and gave him a half-smile. "Tests show that, physically, they're fine. As a couple... not so much."

Barry gritted his teeth and began to walk towards Caitlin's lab. "Excuse me, mister, where are you going?" she asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"To get these two back in sync, I mean, we gotta try and get ahead of DeVoe somehow," Barry explained. He turned back to the lab but Caitlin grabbed at him.

"Hold on," she said, giving his arm a squeeze. "I love you for trying, Barry, but... I think you've _maybe_ done enough. Or a little too much."

Barry looked at her uncomprehending.

"Cisco and Gypsy are clearly going through something," Caitlin went on. "And it's not up to us to counsel them through it."

"Well then, who's it up to?" Barry asked, already trying to pull away.

"Just stop for a second," Caitlin pleaded.

"We can't stop!" Barry cried. "The second we do, everyone could fall apart. The Team's hanging on by a thread- _I'm_ hanging on by a thread."

"But we're hanging on," Caitlin reminded him.

"But for how long?" Barry asked. "Look what's happening! DeVoe is killing innocent people. He's stealing pieces of tech for who knows why! Just trying to keep up with him is tearing us apart."

"Honey," Caitlin murmured, rubbing his arm. "It's not your job to hold everyone together. We are _all_ struggling, and we all have to work through those struggles in the way that is best for us. For me, that means not telling people that my baby won't be able to grow anymore without Killer Frost. For Cisco and Gypsy, that's being able to work through their differences and their issues in their _own way_. Problems within a couple are hard enough at it is; I can't imagine the added stress of having to covibe to find DeVoe resting all on their shoulders is helping any."

Barry leaned back against the desk, his face falling a little.

"I know it's hard," Caitlin said softly. "I want Cisco to be happy just as much as you do. But sometimes, you have to let them figure out things on their own, whether their together or apart."

Barry blinked, a wondering expression coming over his face. "That's it," he muttered, turning to face her. "The pieces of tech don't seem to fit together because they _don't_. DeVoe's not building one thing... he's building multiple."

 **Flash!**

The Team had finally found DeVoe.

Barry wasted no time in flashing off, and Caitlin hurried to a chair to man coms with Iris. Cisco leapt into a breach to keep a hand (literally) on Marlize, Gypsy right behind him, and the fight began.

"Barry," Iris said. "Knock him out and then cuff him."

"On it," Barry replied, speeding off.

Once a lightning bolt had brought DeVoe to the floor, Gypsy sent a blast of her red-tinted vibe at the professor, keeping him on the ground.

"Stop it, you're killing him!" Marlize yelled, agonized. A moment later, she had take Cisco out with a few quick self-defense maneuvers, unsheathed her pet sword, and run at Gypsy.

"Gypsy, look out!" Iris cried, and Caitlin got up from her desk to hurry into her lab.

"Barry, hit him again!" Iris ordered while Gypsy was busy defending herself. Barry ran at DeVoe but he sent a terrific wave of power and knocked the speedster backward. Caitlin, meanwhile, was rooting through her desk, searching for the item she needed.

Finally, her fingers closed around a triangular piece of metal and she pulled it out into the open, immediately opening a breach and stepping through. DeVoe had his hands raised and pointed at Barry, who was on the ground, but he turned when Caitlin lifted the _other_ object in her hands.

A cold gun.

At the sight of his wife, Barry struggled to get up, but DeVoe quickly immobilized him. Without hesitation, Caitlin pressed the trigger on the cold gun and DeVoe was coated in a piece of ice.

"Caitlin!" Iris squawked. "What the heck are you doing?!"

Caitlin gritted her teeth. "Bringing her back," she said, and let go of the trigger.

"DeVoe is creating a sonic pulse," Iris reported as a high-pitched ringing began to reverberate from the newly-formed, DeVoe-shaped ice sculpture. "You need to get out of there before-"

Her words were cut off as the ice exploded, and the ringing intensified sharply in volume. Caitlin's hand slapped instinctively over her ear as she felt pain shoot through her head. The moment she'd recovered, however, DeVoe waved his hand and she was immobilized along with everyone else in the room.

"Oh I get it," DeVoe said thoughtfully. "You'd like me to _frighten_ you into becoming your better half." He smirked a little. "Gladly."

With another waved of his hand, Gypsy was lifted off of the ground in what looked like the DeVoe version of a force choke.

"DeVoe!" Barry grunted, pushing himself up.

Irritated, DeVoe rolled his eyes and immobilized him again. "Ugh. Children should be seen and not heard. Though..." he glanced over at Caitlin. "I'm very sure seeing your hubby _die_ would be frightening enough, but I can't kill the Flash!" He paused. "Well. Not just yet. No, my plan for the enlightenment requires his further participation."

Still unable to move, Caitlin could only watch in horror as DeVoe dragged Gypsy forward. "You, however... are somewhat _less_ fortunate."

"Guys, he's gonna kill Gypsy," Iris said, somewhat unnecessarily.

Gypsy started to gasp as DeVoe squeezed at her neck with his powers. It was about then that Marlize woke up, pushing herself to her elbow with a groan. "Clifford..." she warned, eyeing the seen in front of her anxiously. "This isn't part of our plan. Our plan is to save them."

"Cisco, wake up!" Iris yelled. "Wake up!"

Marlize was on her feet now. "You can't save everyone, my love," DeVoe replied with a shrug, and shot out his other hand to speed along the choking process.

"DeVoe!" Barry yelled, rage steeling his voice.

"Perhaps," Marlize allowed. "But I won't watch you kill an innocent life again."

She turned away, but DeVoe used one of his hands to make her glow greenish and slowly turn her around. "Yes you will," he said simply, then continued to choke Gypsy.

Her gasps were getting more strained. "Please, Clifford," Marlize begged. "Remember who you are! Is this truly the lesson you wish to bestow today?"

DeVoe looked from her back to Gypsy. For a terrifying moment, Caitlin thought that he wasn't going to listen.

But then he dropped his arms. Gypsy fell, collapsing into a heap on the floor. She wasn't moving.

Caitlin felt her breath leave her in a rush. "Get the case," DeVoe said to Marlize, his face impassive. She nodded, hurrying to grab their miniaturized stolen tech, and the two of them vanished into their alternate dimension.

Cisco took that opportunity to come to. He started looking around and pushing himself to his feet as Barry and Caitlin were finally remobilized. Caitlin dropped her gun and raced to Gypsy's side, Cisco not far behind her. "Cynthia?" he asked, pulling off his glasses and helping Caitlin turn her over. "What happened? What did he do to her? Come on. Talk to me. It's okay. Talk to me."

Abruptly, Gypsy's back arched and she sucked in a greedy mouthful of air. Caitlin let out a breath of relief, sitting back on her heels as Cisco pulled his girlfriend into a hug.

Things hadn't gone well that evening, but at the very least, they hadn't lost anyone else.

 **Flash!**

There were no new thefts on the horizon, but a revelation from the unlikely pair of Harry and Cecile had been made. DeVoe was using the technology to try and simplify every brain on the planet, basically creating a world of mindless minions for him to control.

Knowing his plan was comforting, though finding out what it was unnerved them all. Still, there was a certain occasion the West family had been planning for quite awhile: Cecile's baby shower. Joe and Iris were insistent that it wouldn't be put off, and so the Team took a break from Flash-stuff for that evening.

Speaking of breaking... Caitlin got a call from Cisco right before she and Barry were going to head to Iris' loft, where the baby shower was being held.

"Oh Cisco," Caitlin murmured as she listened to her best friend spill the entire story of how he and Gypsy had decided to end things because he wanted to take the next step and she was just fine where they were. "Cisco, I'm so sorry. Do you want to skip the party tonight? I can head to your place and we can binge all of your favorite Star Wars and Avengers movies and eat all the junk you want. I won't even comment on the nutritional factors."

Cisco let out a laugh, but Caitlin could tell he was crying. "No, no, it's fine," he declined. "I just, um... I wanted to tell you. I'll come to the party. I could use a drink, anyway."

"Okay," Caitlin replied simply. She refrained from telling him that tonight was going to be incredibly challenging for her, too, considering that her own baby's future was entirely uncertain at the moment. "I'll see you there, then."

When she hung up, Barry was watching her. "So she really broke up with him, huh?" he sighed as they put on their coats and headed out the door. "Do you... do you think it's my fault? For trying to push them together too hard?"

Caitlin shook her head, softening. "No, honey, of course it's not your fault. Cisco and Gypsy would have come to this whether or not you interfered. Somethings you can't control."

Barry's face fell a little and he glanced at her. "Like... how I can't control you running into the field, virtually defenseless, to try and scare yourself into getting Killer Frost back?"

Caitlin winced. Deep down, she'd known this was coming. Barry hadn't said a word to her, scolding or otherwise, about the fight since they'd gotten back. True, they'd been more focused on sending Gypsy home, but she had been waiting for the bomb to drop.

"I don't blame you for being upset," Caitlin began, biting her lip hesitantly.

"I'm not upset," Barry cut in. "I'm worried. Are you going to keep doing things like that? Caitlin, I know you're desperate to get Frost back, _and_ our kid, and so am I. But what if trying to get them back leads to me having to lose you, too?"

"I know, I know." Caitlin let out a sigh and paused right before they reached the stairwell of their apartment. She turned and put her hand on her husbands arm, giving it a squeeze. "I'm not going to do anything like that again- trust me. Clearly, it didn't work, and trying it again while expecting different results wouldn't be smart." She hesitated, not sure how much she should delve into the thoughts she'd been having about how to solve her issue. She decided to be a little vague. "I just... There are a few more things I need to try before I can give up hope on Frost entirely."

"And those things are...?" Barry prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember how I told you that sometimes you need to let people do things on their own?" Caitlin said, not answering. "This is one of them. I love you, Barry, and I love you for caring. But I can't have your or anyone else on the Team's concern for me stop me from doing what I feel I need to do."

He nodded, giving in with surprising ease. "Okay," he agreed. "But promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Keep yourself safe," Barry murmured, cupping her face in his hands. "Do what you need to do, but if you're going to try something dangerous bring me along. I won't try to stop you, but I might just be able to save you."

Caitlin's lips quirked a little and she nodded, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder. "I promise."

 **Author's Note: OKAYYY I FINISHED ANOTHER CHAPTER GUYS WE'RE SO CLOSE I JUST WANT TO FINISH THIS OMGGGGGGGGGG**

 **I'm gonna start on the next chapter RIGHT NOW so that I don't lose my inspiration before I finish. Okay okay okay here we goooooo...**


	21. 4x21

**Author's Note: 3. More. EPISODESSSS!**

 **Omg y'all this is the episode where Caitlin and Barry team up- I remember watching this one and FREAKING OUT because it had been so long (according to ReactOutLoud, 29 episodes) since they'd had their last one-on-one scene :P**

 **And people wonder why I'm not inspired to write this story...**

 **Okay, granted, if Caitlin and Barry were cannonically a couple this wouldn't even** ** _be_** **a story, but whatever XD**

 **(ok lowkey tho... the original, cannon opening scene for this episode with Iris being so excited about her reporting was actually really cute XD She's got her moments. They're rare, but she's got them :)**

Cecile's baby shower had gone well... for Cecile and Joe, anyway. Cisco had spent most of his time moping by the window, and though Barry had gone to give him a some comfort he still looked downhearted. Iris, on the other hand, had approached Caitlin and asked her not to pull another live-risking stint again. Caitlin had been _this close_ to telling her everything that was really going on, but she'd held back.

And then, of course, there was still the problem of DeVoe. Caitlin, Cisco and Harry had started working on the issue in the late afternoon, and before they knew it they were pulling an all-nighter. At least, by the time the Team filtered back into STAR Labs the next morning, they had some news.

"So, last night, Harry, Cisco and I spent all night running all the different algorithms we could think of involving the satellite tech that DeVoe stole," Caitlin began.

"We think DeVoe plans to position each of his five satellites in different calculated points around the globe," Cisco added.

"And when the quantum computers in each satellite link up..."

"He'll use that network to basically emit a series of Dark Matter bursts."

"He'll reboot the prefrontal cortex of every man, woman and child on this Earth," Caitlin finished.

"Well, we need to nip this in the bud," Joe said. "We can't let him launch those satellites."

Iris looked blank. "Yeah, but... how are we supposed to find him? I mean, we haven't been able to register DeVoe's pocket dimension breach energy for days."

"And with Null's gravitational powers, he can launch these satellites from any place, any time," Caitlin added.

Barry had drifted away from the desks to look at the little satellites-surrounding-the-planet animation Harry had concocted at some point during their more delirious 3am moments the night before. "Yeah, he can," he breathed, but there was something in his voice that sounded more curious than hopeless.

Joe seemed to catch that note, too. "What're you thinking, Baer?"

"I think we shoot them down," Barry said with a shrug that belied the huge idea he'd just dumped on them.

"One small problem," Iris spoke up. "DeVoe has Killgore's powers."

"He can manipulate any tech-based weapon we fire at him," Joe agreed.

"So, we don't use tech," Barry concluded. "We use... some kind of organic matter weapon."

"Like a..." Harry trailed off. "Like a, um..."

Caitlin felt her heart sink. Harry had done pretty well last night keeping his wits about him, but there was definitely something lacking in the giant brain they'd all gotten so used to.

"You know what?" Iris said, before Harry could get too embarrassed about his inability to come up with an idea. "Let's split up, and see what we can find."

The Team nodded, and Caitlin walked off to her lab, Barry following behind her. "Missed you last night," he said with a faint smile.

"Sorry," Caitlin replied, wincing. "Sometimes science calls, you know?"

"You guys did great work," Barry assured her. "Thank you for sacrificing your sleep cycle for the sake of stopping DeVoe."

Caitlin giggled, pecking him on the lips. "Anytime."

He jogged off to go take his own angle on the organic matter issue, and Caitlin sat down at her desk. She was tired, sure, but they really _had_ needed the extra time an all-nighter allowed. Besides, it had given her a change to put her mind to some more alternatives for getting Killer Frost back, and coming up with ideas always made her hopeful.

A couple hours later, Joe wandered into her lab. "Hey, Caitlin?" he asked. "Do you have any Ibuprofen? Reading up on all this organic matter has given me an organic migraine."

Smiling a little, Caitlin reached for the probably-overused bottle of pills resting on her desk and tossed them to her father-in-law.

"Thanks," Joe said, before he actually looked at her for the first time. Caitlin smiled pleasantly at him, two acupuncture needles sticking out of her face. "You have a little.. uh..."

"Acupuncture," Caitlin explained, reaching for a cotton pad to take out the needle. "Ever since I found out I still have a cryogenic anomaly in my DNA, I've been trying every medical avenue I can think of to get Killer Frost to emerge."

"You really do miss her, don't you?" Joe asked softly.

"Yeah," Caitlin said with a shrug. "Killer Frost was apart of me, and _just_ as I was starting to accept her, she was taken away." She let out a sigh. "I'm running out of ideas."

Joe took a few steps forward. "Well, I know it's not exactly the same, but I've had my fair share of missing persons cases."

"What do you do when you hit a wall?"

"I try to attack it from a different direction," Joe responded simply. "If that helps."

She smiled up him, nodding contemplatively, and he thanked her for the pills and walked out of her lab.

Caitlin turned slowly back to her computer, her thoughts racing. She might just have a solution that could solve both her _and_ the Team's problems. A moment later, she leapt to her feet and called the Team back in again.

"We've been attacking this from the wrong direction," she began once everyone had gathered. "We know we need a tech-free projectile to stop DeVoe's satellites, and we've been looking for an object. But what we _need_... is a person. Amunet."

Everyone's eyebrows went up. Barry let out a laugh, and Joe stared at her. "Amunet Black," he repeated, incredulous.

"I know she's no the ideal choice, but Amunet's psychically powered alnico shards are not only deadly powerful, they're _completely_ immune to DeVoe's Killgore powers," Caitlin insisted.

"Not idea?" Barry repeated, unfortunately only grasping on to the first thing she'd said. "I mean, she kidnapped you. She tried to sell me into meta-slavery!"

"And she ruined your bachelorette party!" Iris added unhappily.

Barry sent her an odd look, not feeling like that was really the worst of the things Amunet had done that Iris could have mentioned.

"Yeah, we can't partner up with Amunet," Joe agreed firmly. "She's a criminal."

Caitlin spread her hands. "Snart's a criminal. So's Killer Frost. We work with them."

"Even if we forgive Amunet for everything she's done," Barry said as Caitlin walked around her desk, looking at him imploringly. "What makes you say she'd be willing to help us?"

"I've seen a different side of her," Caitlin replied. "She's helped me before, and I believe she'll do it again."

Joe, Iris and Barry looked around at each other, but Caitlin felt a smile pulling at her lips. She knew she'd convinced them.

Now all that was left to do was find Amunet and convince _her_ in the same way.

 **Flash!**

"Alright," Barry said as he faced Caitlin in his Flash suit. "You ready?"

She looked at him, surprised. "Just like that? You're letting me tag along without putting up any fight at all?"

Barry pulled a face at her, knowing his was only partially teasing. "Hey, I meant what I said," he told her. "I'm not going to hold you back, but I'm not going to let you go at it alone, either. That goes for everything, not just finding Killer Frost."

"Duly noted," Caitlin said with a smile, and then offered him her arm. "Shall we?"

In moments, he had flashed her to Amunet's hideout, the dim, underground area that Caitlin had spent so much time in as Frost when she'd been working for the crime lady.

Barry stopped them in front of a boxing ring, where two women wearing tank tops and large gloves were sparring. "This isn't what I expected Amunet's hideout to look like," Barry admitted as he glanced around.

"I might have made a few changes," a voice from behind them said, and Caitlin and Barry spun around to find Norvock, everyone's favorite snake-eye, coming around the corner with two gun-wielding muscle men.

The men raised said guns and cocked them, but before they could fire Barry had run forward and grabbed both the weapons. "Really boys?" he asked, unimpressed, as he dropped the guns to the ground at his feet.

"You trying to get us killed?" Norvok asked his men. "That's the Flash, you morons. And Caitlin may look like a _librarian_ , but she's a cold hearted beast."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow at the description of her fashion, and decided to mostly ignore him. "Where's Amunet?" she asked instead.

"Really?" Norvok asked, waving his bodyguards away and walking closer to the two of them. "No... 'hello Norvok. How you been?' You're not even gonna introduce me to your new boss?"

"Oh, I'm not her boss," Barry said quickly. "I'm her-"

Caitlin sent him a glance, telling him very plainly with her gaze that she did _not_ want Norvok knowing she was married to the Flash.

"Friend," Barry finished lamely, and offered up an awkward grin.

"Well isn't that sweet," Norvok grunted.

" _Norvok_ ," Caitlin grit out, taking a threatening step forward. This may have been her "librarian" side, but she had picked a few things up from Killer Frost over the past few months. "Where's Amunet?"

"No one's heard a peep from her in months," Norvok responded finally. "For all I know... the witch is dead." He clacked his teeth together and smirked as Caitlin sent a frustrated glance at her husband.

If they couldn't find Amunet... Caitlin wasn't sure what plan they had left.

 **Flash!**

"So, Amunet's gone?" Iris recapped after Barry and Caitlin returned to STAR Labs with the bad news.

"Well, apparently after her deal with Warden Wolfe took a nosedive, she's been out of the Meta trafficking business."

"Caitlin," Joe asked, looking over at her. "Do you know any personal details that can help track her down?"

Caitlin considered. She didn't know a ton about Amunet's private life; the woman had never been the most open and, besides, she had spent most of her time with Killer Frost, who didn't really take the time to ask personal questions.

"I don't know," she murmured. "Amunet's always been kind of a private person. Unpredictable, rash... kind of fly by the seat of your pants..." She trailed off, the word 'fly' bringing her back to one detail she remembered Amunet telling her when they'd sort-of-bonded while she was being held captive. "You know, when she kidnapped me at Christmas she said she used to be a flight attendant! I think she was on an airplane the night the Particle Accelerator exploded."

"Okay, that we can work with," Iris declared. She fiddled with her computer for a second. "Yeah, looks like there were 35 flights in the air in Central City the night of the Particle Accelerator Explosion."

"Cisco, can you access the flight manifests?" Joe requested.

"Yes I can," Cisco replied. " _And_ I can take the crews credentials, cross reference them-"

"In the facial recognition?" Barry finished.

Cisco looked up at him, disgruntled. "Can you not read my mind?"

Barry shrugged apologetically.

A few seconds later, a headshot of a familiar-looking flight attendant popped up on a wall monitor. "Her real name is Leslie Jocoy," Caitlin read off, wrinkling her nose.

"Maybe she's operating under her name, not her pseudonym," Barry suggested.

"Well, she didn't have a criminal record until the Particle Accelerator, so it's not a bad plan," Iris put in.

Joe was frowning down at his phone. "CCPD has several prior work addresses for Leslie Jocoy."

"Alright, let's pay them all a visit," Barry said, nodding.

They split up into groups and went on the search, and Joe and Caitlin ended up hunting down one lead together. Joe was quick to bring up Caitlin's ulterior motive for suggesting they hunt down Amunet, which she had been kind of hoping no one would notice, and to plead with her to upfront with the Team. She didn't fully agree to that, but what he said _was_ true. She wanted to find Amunet to help stop DeVoe, of course. But she also wanted her help to get Killer Frost back. Amunet had helped her before, and Caitlin was crossing her all her fingers that she'd be able to again.

Joe and Caitlin lucked out. In a back area of the rundown store where Amunet used to work, there was a whole hidden casino. And at the head of it all was Amunet herself.

It didn't take Joe long to scare everyone out with his badge, and soon it was just the two of them and Amunet left in the room. She looked up at Caitlin, displeasure written all over her expression.

"Leslie," Caitlin greeted, trying not to smirk at the knowledge of Amunet's real name.

Amunet took a sip from her glass of alcohol. "Caity," she replied. "Leave it to your crafty little brain to figure out my dark secret." Her seemingly-friendly smile dropped off her face. " _What're you doing here_?"

"Calling your bluff," Caitlin said, deciding to try some casino-themed lingo, considering the location. "I knew you were still alive."

"No one could kill me," Amunet agreed. Still smiling slightly, she turned around and lifted a large canvas bucket onto the table. It hit the wood with a distinct clink of metal, and Caitlin immediately knew what was inside.

Joe seemed to catch on, too. "Flash," he said, touching his hand to the com at his ear.

Barry was there in a second and Amunet jumped, startled. "Oh!" she cried. "Flash. You really do stop all the crime in the city, don't you?"

She hovered a hand over the bucket and her skin was immediately coated with metal shards. Caitlin moved to take cover and Joe raised his gun, but Amunet fired at Barry. He dodged easily, and then leveled Amunet with a stare. "I'm not here to fight," he said. "We need your help."

 **Flash!**

Once they filled Amunet in on DeVoe's plans, she agreed to come back to STAR Labs with them. The next few minutes were filled with her eagerly exclaiming over all the various features in the Cortex, then her forcing Barry to take off his mask because she had already figured out his identity, before she finally broke the news to them that she couldn't do the job without her special stash of alnico shards.

Unfortunately, those alnico shards had been stolen from her storage warehouse recently. Barry decided they should go have a look at the crime scene to see if there were any clues about who had broken in, and while he was getting his CSI kit Caitlin brought Amunet into her lab to talk to her alone.

"I didn't just bring you here to ask you to help us stop DeVoe," Caitlin admitted.

"An ulterior motive," Amunet murmured. "How furtive. After all... why go to all the hassle of procuring me when Killer Frost could quite easily just ice-blast those satellites down."

Amunet was definitely more intuitive than she looked; Caitlin would give her that. "Killer Frost is gone," she said. "Remember last year, when I came to you because Killer Frost was taking over? You fixed me with your splicer. I need to use that splicer again."

Amunet tsked softly, walking over to her. "Caity..." she murmured. "One of the reasons I was so willing to help you and your friends with your professor situations is because it also benefits me. But giving you my splicer... not as beneficial."

Caitlin took a breath. She had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but she was willing to do quite a lot to get Frost back, at this point. "What if I make you a deal?" she offered. "You give me the splicer, Killer Frost and I will do you _one favor_."

"Oh... that is a tempting offer," Amunet murmured, looking eager. "But unfortunately... my splicer was stashed right alongside my additional shards."

"Okay," Caitlin said, nodding determinedly. "Wherever we find your shards, we should also find your splicer."

She and Amunet shook on the deal, and a moment later Barry had arrived to take them to the scene of the crime. That scene turned out to be an abandoned train yard.

" _This_ is where you kept your stash?" Caitlin said incredulously, bending to open up Barry's CSI kit. It had been awhile since she had worked alongside him like this, and it was nice to be back in action.

"Well, I got something," Barry reported. "Some sort of substance on the locks. Looks like they applied it to break the door open."

They put a sample into a tube to see how it reacted, and Caitlin peered at the results. "Hemotoxic venom," she said as the liquid in the vial turned yellowish-green.

Amunet's face, which had been lit up as she watched them work, turned stormy. She stalked away from them, growling almost-inarticulate curses about a certain someone under her breath.

"I take it she knows who did this?" Barry asked, glancing over at Caitlin.

She sighed, realizing they had gone full circle. "So do you. Norvok."

 **Flash!**

Not only were they back to square one, but Amunet was furious and Caitlin was antsy.

"The satellites aren't picking up any traces of your alnico metal anywhere in the city," Iris said with a sigh.

"Norvok may be a moron," Amunet growled. "But he's not stupid enough to keep the stash out in the open."

Barry flashed in at that moment. "Did you find anything?" Joe asked hopefully.

"No," he said, looking annoyed. "Norvok and the box weren't in the ring anymore."

"Of course not," Amunet cried. "Because you and your gang of heroes tipped him off that something was up!"

Barry pointed to himself incredulously and Caitlin strode over to Iris. "Have you expanded the satellites to beyond Central City?"

Iris raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah."

"What about trying facial recognition."

"Yes, of course-"

"And what about a geological scan of the metas signature like last time or- or having Cisco run another algorithm to check the electromagnetic fields in the city-"

Iris cut her off, looking annoyed. "Yes, Caitlin. I've done all that. I've run all the tests.

"We're doing everything we can," Barry said, looking at her steadily. "Alright? We're gonna find Norvok and the shards."

For once, his confidence did nothing to reassure her. She turned and started pacing towards the exit, but Joe's voice stopped her. "Caitlin," he said. "Is this about her stolen shards? Or her tech?"

Caitlin gave him a panicked look, but the cat was out of the bag."What?" Barry's gaze swiveled to her and his eyebrows furrowed. "What tech?"

"Amunet has splicer technology that she used to split Killer Frost last year," Caitlin admitted finally, her voice dull. "I was hoping to use it again to get Killer Frost to come out, but it was hidden with her metal shards in the storage container."

"Why- why wouldn't you tell us that?" Barry asked, and she could hear the unspoken _me_ replacing the 'us' as clearly as she could read the betrayal on his face.

Caitlin broke his gaze, unable to look at him. "Because I made Amunet a deal. If she helped me, Killer Frost would do another job for her."

She glanced up in time to see Barry's lips purse. Joe spoke again. "But that splicer tech your only hope-"

"Yes it is, Joe!" Caitlin cried, her voice wobbling a little as her eyes welled up. "I have tried _everything_ I can think of to get Killer Frost to appear, and _that_ was my last shot." She shook her head. "So now she's gone for good, and it looks like I'm never getting my baby back, either!"

Knowing she had just dropped two giant bombs on her Team, Caitlin strode out of the room and left Barry to deal with the fallout.

 **Flash!**

After Caitlin stormed out, Joe turned to Barry sharply. "What does she mean, 'she's never getting her baby back'? What's wrong with my grandchild?"

Barry swallowed, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Caitlin needs Killer Frost's presence for our baby to keep growing," he explained, as simply as possible. "Without her... it's in a sort of stasis. We're not sure exactly why or how, but it started right after Caitlin lost her powers and it's the only thing that makes sense."

"I can't believe this," Iris breathed. "She's been keeping this from us, too?"

"She didn't want to burden you," Barry said with a shrug. "And you know what? Fine. She didn't tell us about the splicer, and maybe she only wanted Amunet here so that she could fix her powers. But the fact of the matter still stands that Amunet _is_ going to be able to help us. And if she can help Caitlin and our child in the process..." he shrugged again. "I'm glad we asked her for help."

In truth, Amunet ended up being just what Caitlin _and_ the Team needed.

When Caitlin heard footsteps outside of the pipeline, she thought it was Barry. Instead, Amunet came creeping around the corner, her excessively spidery eyelashes fluttering as she blinked at Caitlin hesitantly. "I... didn't know you were pregnant," she began.

"Yeah," Caitlin said, letting out a small sigh.

"Who's the... lucky man?"

She knew who Barry's identity was now; Caitlin figured she might as well tell her the whole truth. "Barry," she said, smiling a little.

"Let me get this straight," Amunet said, sitting gingerly down on the ledge Caitlin was on but staying a few feet away. "You're married to the _Flash_? How could you have not _told_ me this?"

Caitlin raised an eyebrow in her direction and Amunet shrugged. "Okay, yes, stupid question."

"What're you doing here, Amunet?" Caitlin asked, letting out a breath.

"Oh Caity..." Amunet murmured, scootching a bit closer. "I hate to see you so torn up like this! So I'm going to tell you something that'll cheer you up: That splicer... did not cure you."

Caitlin blinked, looking at her uncomprehendingly. "What?"

"Well, you-" another inch closer. "You'd come to me so broken, so needy... and so I put that piece of tech on your head and... nothing! It did not work on you."

"So you decided to _lie_ to me rather than tell me that?"

"Mhm," Amunet chirped. "But just because the splicer didn't _technically_ work doesn't mean that the results were not the same."

"How?" Caitlin gaped. "That doesn't make any sense..." She trailed off suddenly, a thought occurring. "It was a placebo," she realized softly.

"You see?" Amunet murmured. "It's been inside you the entire time."

A moment later she'd realized just where Norvok her new arch-nemesis was hiding, and Team Flash had rushed off. After Barry got poison blown in his face by Norvok's eye-snake, Joe stopped the shard's getaway car by blowing out its wheels with his gun, and Caitlin created a giant chandelier of ice to land on the gunmen's heads, Caitlin and Joe released the shards and Amunet used them to create a metallic mask around Norvok's face and eye-snake.

Joe and Caitlin raced towards Amunet and Norvok and Barry got to his feet, having phased through the poison before it could reach his heart. "Amunet!" he yelled as the crime lady raised her shard-encrusted fist and prepared to kill Norvok with it. "Don't kill him."

"He's more than earned it," Amunet said, lip wrinkling.

"It's not about him, it's about it," Barry panted, still out of breath from the poison that had just been in his system. He caught sight of his wife closing in on them and knew that she was their only hope. "Caitlin-"

"Amunet," Caitlin said urgently, picking up the slack. "There is a good part of you- I _truly_ believe that."

There was a tense moment where Amunet just glared at Norvok as he clutched at his face, trying to wrench the metal mask off.

" _Fine_ ," she relented finally, and pulled the metal away from Norvok's face. He inhaled raspily, snake-eye thrashing in the air. Amunet wrinkled her nose. "But the snake has got to go," she decided, and promptly sliced it off of his face.

Caitlin grimaced as the chopped snake came flying off of Norvok's eye and landed, still squirming, at her feet. Norvok let out a howl of pain and got to his feet, stumbling for the exit.

"Like Norvok," Amunet segwayed. "I must be on my way."

She turned, and was about to head out, when Barry stopped her. "N-n-n-no! Hey! If you leave there is _no_ way we can stop DeVoe's satellite."

Amunet paused, wincing.

"She was never gonna help us," Joe grumbled. "She just wanted her metal."

That, surprisingly, made Amunet turn. "Oh! Truthfully, I did consider it. I did. But a... a good player knows when to fold and the professor certainly has a better hand, so..." She shrugged. "Don't try to stop me."

"There nowhere you can go where DeVoe's satellites won't reach you," Caitlin said, her voice hard. She knew that self-preservation could very well be the one thing that would reach Amunet, and she was willing to play to that. "If you leave now, you'll be mind-melted just like the rest of us."

Amunet let out a deep sigh, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "Good point," she admitted, and began to spin her fingers over her palm. In a few moments, a ball of metal shards had formed, and she passed it carefully to Caitlin. "Filled with shrapnel and bound with my metahuman genetics. Pull a shard, throw it... it will deliver one _savage_ concussive blow. You only get one shot." She looked at Caitlin deliberately. "I know you won't waste it."

Smiling a little, Caitlin nodded.

"Go save the world, my darling," Amunet whispered, and then she was off.

 **Flash!**

"Guys, I'm sorry I got so worked up with Amunet around," Caitlin said once everyone had reconvened in the Cortex. She had since filled Harry and Cisco in on what was going on with her baby, and they had been just as shocked and dismayed as Joe and Iris. "And... I'm also sorry for not telling you guys everything that was going on at first."

"It's okay," Iris said.

"Amunet still gave us the bomb," Barry said with a shrug. "And I think it's our best bet at stopping DeVoe."

"We just need to figure out how to fire it," Caitlin agreed, glad that everyone was being so chill.

Granted, she couldn't imagine anyone being too harsh on a woman who's unborn child was currently in a state of stasis while still inside of her.

The topic was changed to what Cisco and Harry had found out that afternoon. "I put myself in DeVoe's shoes," Harry said. "I though, well, if I was a genius moving around in a floating chair, how would I feel. All my actions would be driven by the one thing I care most about."

"So, if you're not acting..." Barry realized.

"If I'm not acting, I don't have the one thing I care most about," Harry finished, looking around at them all. "My wife."

 **Author's Note: Guyyys omg I'm so sorry there were a ton of scenes near the top that I probably could have condensed into recap-mode... I couldn't remember exactly how this episode went and didn't want to miss the part where Caitlin got upset and admitted that she didn't know how to get Frost back because I wanted her to tell her team about the baby then.**

 **Not the** ** _most_** **exciting episode to rewrite... isn't that so funny, though? The ones with the least amount of Snowbarry are the most fun to do. The episodes** ** _with_** **Snowbarry don't need all that much work, because it already, you know...** ** _has Snowbarry_** **. XD**


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